Library Mishap
by Nicosia-Oceania-Cyprus
Summary: Who says the library can't be the start of a relationship between book-hater and pessimist Norah Reed and book-loving and ever the optimist Nate?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 (WHEN I MET 'HIM')

The library hasn't always been my favourite place. In fact, I was never really interested in books. I preferred math problems. I was even addicted to solving distance equations and finding out the exact values of things. In fact, I've even memorized the multiplication table. The numbers just sort of rush into my head.

"Achoo!" I sneezed as I pulled out one dusty book from a shelf.

I rubbed my nose and looked at the title 'The Hunchback of NotreDame'.

Nah. Not my type of book report.

I placed it back and rubbed my nose. This is another reason why I didn't like the library: the books were dusty most of the time. And I am allergic to dust.

So why would I risk my health?

Easy. Book report.

Much to my dismay, I need to find a book. I'm sure I wouldn't find any book at home. I had no use for books. Ever.

Books on Math maybe.

But novels? Nuh-uh. Not my cup of tea.

I looked at the titles of the books, running my fingers on their spines. Jeez. I can't find one that even interests me.

I hate books. I hate books.

I really do.

Detest them.

Abhor them.

Hate them.

I saw one novel on the shelf. I raised an eyebrow.

This could be good.

I reached out for it but then it was tightly wedged between two books. I pulled it again, exerting more force.

Darn it. Get off, will you?

I accidentally pushed it, and the rest of the books fell on the other side. All sorts of books came falling down: thick, thin, battered, tattered. You name it.

I was horrified to see the landslide that I caused.

Cripes! The librarian better not be here or else I'll be in more trouble than sticking gum on chairs!

"Ouch!" a voice protested from the other side.

Cripes. I hit someone.

Great Norah. Simply great.

I rushed to the other side.

Buried in a mountain of books was a boy with brown, curly hair. His eyes made him look like he was squinting but I guessed that that was just how he looked like. He was rubbing his head, and his face was screwed up in pain.

Shoot. You are such a klutz Norah. Simply spectacular.

I rushed over to his side and began carefully plucking the books off of him. A lot fell on him. I swear.

Aaah! Why don't I just throw these?? It'll speed up the process!

Without caring and without wondering if the librarian was watching (she would totally kill me if she saw me), I began throwing the books off the guy. The books were flying and whizzing about as if they had wings.

Finally, I managed to unearth him from the mess.

"Are you okay?" I asked him as I plucked the last book (Sherlock Holmes) from him.

"I'm fine… Thanks," he said and smiled a bit.

I sighed in relief. "Whew. I thought I killed you with that landslide. Look, I'm sorry."

He began to stand up and brushed his shirt.

Hm… He actually looked pretty nice. From afar he looks plain ordinary but at a closer view he looks cute…

Like a Chihuahua.

Oh shut up Norah.

"I'm Norah by the way," I smiled, feeling that I at least owe to him an introduction of myself.

"I'm Nate," he grinned.

"Really sorry about what happened. I'll fix this mess up before the librarian hangs me and throws my body off the Golden Gate Bridge," I said and began picking up the fallen books. I hope I didn't tear any. Any page had more worth than my life.

Nate chuckled and helped me with the putting back of books. He was nice. I expected him to go away and leave me here to fix my own mess.

Now, there was only one book left. I placed it in its rightful place (I was about to insert it somewhere else but Nate insisted that I leave it where it really belonged). However, the book was proving hard since it wouldn't insert at all.

"You like books, eh?" I huffed as I pushed the book.

Dang. This was hard.

He chuckled. "Yup. They deserve to be treated properly."

"Yeah. Right. Oh this is annoying!" I exclaimed.

WHY. WON'T. IT. GET. IN?!?!?!

I was getting more and more frustrated as I tried in vain to return the book. It's like it's fighting back and retaliating or something. I don't understand it at all.

BUT IT HAS TO GO BACK.

"Stupid book!" I let out a cry of frustration and kicked it hard.

All of a sudden, the shelf wobbled and the books came flooding all over me. The books were attacking me now as I fell down and couldn't do anything about the shelf toppling and collapsing over me.

As I have said before:

I HATE BOOKS.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 ( I STILL HATE BOOKS)

I woke up, light was blinding my eyes. I shielded my eyes with my hand and…

Hold up a second and rewind.

Am I wearing a cast?

I squinted, as if that would make me see any clearer.

I do not believe it.

My right arm has a cast on it.

I sat up and yawned. I was inside a white room with white curtains. This place looked clean.

Too clean.

Ah. I get it. I'm in a hospital. No wonder. Squeaky clean places like these are never normal.

All of a sudden, a piercing sound alarmed. Like the sound of nails hammering on something.

Really unpleasant if you asked me.

I looked to my right and saw that there was a red alarm clock dancing on my table. It was buzzing noisily and was slowly getting on my nerves.

Actually, it just did.

Time to stop this cacophony!!

I pounded the alarm clock with my hand wrapped inside the cast. I heard its noise die abruptly (thank the gods it did) and I was finally in peace.

I sighed and looked at it. Its glass had broken now but I didn't care. It was just so plain noisy!

I picked it up with my good hand. I looked at the back and turned pale.

"Hospital property. Destroy and be fined $1,000", it said on the back with a smiley face at the end.

My jaw dropped.

A thousand whopping dollars??????

For a stupid alarm clock??????

I started to panic.

I'll fix it. I'll fix it.

A few of its screws came off and I tired to put them back. But it seems on getting worse and worse.

Oooh. Why did they make clocks this complicated?!?!?!

Curse those clockmakers and their complicated structure plans for a simple clock!!

I was fumbling with the clock in my hands, more destroyed than before if that was even possible. It even kept on jumping in my hands like a loose fish.

I finally stopped and took a while to breathe in and relax.

This is not good for your health Norah… Relax…

"Thank God you stopped panicking," a voice said behind me, clearly amused.

I looked behind me and screamed, the clock flying out of my hands and landing on the floor. It was now broken beyond repair.

"Motherbullpoppy!" I exclaimed as I saw Nate behind me.

JEEZ! Since when was he here?!?! Hasn't he ever learned how to knock??

Well, there is no door but you get the picture.

"When did you come here?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Two hours ago. I had to watch over you. I was the one who brought you to this hospital."

Wow. He brought me here. That was unexpected and sweet of him.

Cute and sweet.

Like a candy Chihuahua.

Oh what am I saying?!

"Thanks," I replied and began picking up the alarm clock on the floor.

Jeez. Broken.

It lay in my hand, its figure totally mangled. It looks raped…

"I'll help you with that. We'll find a replacement," Nick offered.

I looked at him and smiled. "Thanks."

Thank God He's sent me someone for help. I'd be too scared to think of a solution myself. At least he was calm.

All of a sudden, the door swung open and a doctor appeared wearing a stethoscope over his neck and his lab gown. His glasses were so thick-rimmed, it must've been ancient.

From the time of the dinosaurs…

"Ah Norah. I'm just here to inject some fluids into your body. Hold still, okay?" he asked gently and began taking out his injection.

I felt my body freeze.

Needles and I… don't get along.

And shouldn't I get some 'preparation' time for this like the wrestlers? It's as scary as heading into the ring and being pitted against Fedor Emelianenko!

"Ready?" he asked.

"No," I replied.

He looked confused. "What's that?"

"I said no!"

I jumped out of my bed and hurried to one corner, getting away from the corner. Nate looked at me and gave me the you'll-be-fine look but I don't believe him.

Stay away from needles.

"Norah, stop this childish act," the doctor said.

"I said no!" I screamed.

I ran to one corner, and the doctor followed. He began chasing me. I ran past some apparatuses and they tumbled to the floor. Nick could only watch.

Get away!

Finally, I was behind the door, holding on to it for dear life.

The doctor was near. "Hold still."

In my panic, I screamed and pushed the door.

It swung to the left, and hit the doctor in the process.

He fell to the floor, unconscious. The injection dropped in his hand.

Nate was beside me, stunned. "You knocked him out cold."

I bit my lip.

Oops. I really did hate injections, didn't I?

Okay. What to do? What to do? What to do?

Suddenly, a nurse came towards our direction. I panicked and grabbed nick's hand. She might find out about the crime.

"Let's go Nate!" I yelled and headed out.

I have no idea where we were going.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 (CHILD'S PLAY)

"Where the heck are we going?" Nick asked me as we sped through corridor after corridor. My feet slapped the floor and people were throwing us suspicious glances as we raced about.

Oh. And why wouldn't they? We looked like vigilantes!

"I… I dunno! Stop asking questions and I'll… Find a way!" I huffed, still holding on to his hand and running about aimlessly.

Dang it. This place is so huge! It's almost endless!

Jeez. I must be really confused right now to be thinking like this.

I finally stopped, since I felt extremely exhausted. Running for fifteen minutes straight sure has taken a toll on my body. We stopped just beside the comfort room. My hand was leaning against the wall and I was swallowing as much oxygen as I could.

Norah you manage to turn a normal situation into something biblical in proportion.

"You should take a rest," Nate said, not looking tired at all. He didn't even break a sweat.

I looked at him, wondering why he wasn't sweating bullets right now. He looked pretty fragile, and I expected him to shrivel up and die in the first few minutes.

Well, that was an exaggeration but you get my point.

"We shouldn't have run you know. That doctor seemed nice. And it was accidental," Nate said.

I stared at him and was about to open my mouth and say something witty, but then I decided to shut up.

He DOES have a point. It's not like I murdered the dude or anything. I mean, I just hit him…

But then what if that leads to a coma? Then he has some sort of brain damage due to the impact? What if I actually shattered his skull into smithereenies?

OH. NO.

No. Running away was definitely the best way. It was the perfect plan.

Suddenly, a nurse walked past us. She was walking fast and her heels were lightly and rapidly clicking.

"Doctor Strauss! Doctor Wilforth's knocked out cold in room 25! And the patient's gone missing as well!" she cried out to a doctor with grey hair.

The hairs on my body stood up.

Oh no… She meant me!

"They're after us Nate!" I cried, panicking once more.

"Er… Technically, they're after you," he replied, grinning.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh funny Nick. Simply… Oh no. We need to hide! Let's go!"

And with that, I grabbed his hand and we began our marathon again.

Maybe I should've been a runner. I can't believe the rate I'm going at!

Finally, I saw a yellow door. Bright yellow. In my flurry of panic, I screwed it open and went inside, dragging Nate with me.

Poor guy. He didn't deserve it. But then again, people around me tend to get into a LOT of trouble.

As we entered the room, some tiny little creature poked me.

"Hi there," it said in a squeaky voice.

It took me a while to realize that the tiny little creature was actually a small kid with blond hair. She was smiling at us and her hands seemed messy with paint.

"H-Hi there," I said shakily.

I looked around. The room was painted baby blue, like a nursery. Little children were scampering about and chuckling as they held toys in their hands. There were tiny, round tables in the room and a shelf crammed with picture books.

Huh. This must be where the keep the little runts.

I mean, children.

"We'll be safe here I guess," Nate said as he smiled and shook hands with the little kid. The kid blushed and went away.

"Yeah. We could stay here," I said and walked about.

This didn't seem so bad. Not such a bad place for a hideout.

I sat on a small stool, it could barely support me but it'll have to do. Nick began playing with some of the kids and they were forming a circle around him.

I watched him in amusement. He seems like a pretty nice guy. I don't see guys like him that much. He seemed like a refreshing change.

"Miss, do you like Cinderella?" a girl with brown hair and freckles approached me, beaming.

"No. I hate her. I think her hair is ugly and she looks like a mutated duck," I replied.

Well it's true. And besides, I always speak out what's in my mind.

To my horror, she began to frown. Slowly, tears were trickling down her cheeks and she was sniffing.

"You're mean!!!" she cried out and ran away, bawling her eyes out.

Oh cripes.

I forgot that kids get offended that easily.

I stood up from my seat and followed her. "Hey kid! Wait up!"

She was in one corner now, sitting with her legs curled up and her back leaning against the wall. She was crying and every child was looking at me.

Great. So now I'm a bully.

I looked at Nate, asking for some help. He shrugged and made it clear to me that I should apologize to the girl.

I sighed and went to the girl. She was still crying and sniffing and her head was buried in her hands.

"Aw come on… Don't cry now. I'm sorry," I said as I squatted down to her size.

Jeez. I swear kids are getting tinier these days. Are they getting enough nutrition?

Aaah. Focus on apologizing now before I traumatize her forever.

She was still crying. "N-no… You were being mean to Cinderella. What did she ever do to you?"

Uh… Let's see… She was haunting me in my dreams when I was a kid. In my dreams, she had snakes in her hair and she had horrible, webbed wings and for some reason, she was trying to gobble me up.

But no, I can't say that.

"Nothing… Look, I'm really sorry. Are we friends now? I'd love to be friends," I said sincerely and smiled at her.

She looked up, her lip was trembling but she wasn't frowning anymore. Finally, she broke into a smile and nodded. "Right. We're friends now. Let's play dollies!"

She chuckled and went to their toy bin. She pulled out a Barbie doll and gave me one. "This is Tinkerwooditzy and yours is Fluffysunmuffinpants," she said excitedly and began to make the her doll dance in the air.

Fluffysunmuffinpants.

Sheesh. Where do they get this nowadays? I only named my dolls Sara or Jessie before and not some nursery-rhyme type gibberish.

Ah. But I can't help the way she is.

I made my doll dance, doing it a bit lazily. I'm grown up already, I don't want to play. But I guess I'll have to or I'll upset the kid.

Hm… Could this head come off?

I got curious and I began to pull its head out. Maybe it won't anyway.

All of a sudden, the head popped out and the doll was decapitated. The girl gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh no! You killed Fluffysunmuffinpants!"

I panicked and began placing the head back. "I'll fix it!"

Come on… Come on… GET. BACK.

The kid grew frustrated and snatched the doll from my hands. "Oh! You really ARE mean!"

She turned her back and began placing the head back. "Poor Fluffysunmuffinpants…"

Nate was beside me now. "You popped the head off?"

"I was curious," I replied, trying to justify my action.

Okay. That might've been stupid, but does this kid have to treat me this way? I mean, it's not like I executed the doll through guillotine.

"She's really mean!" I hissed to Nate as the girl stuck out her tongue at me.

"Well, she's a kid. Understand her," Nate said gently.

Hm… I guess so… But… Argh. Nick's right.

"What do I do?" I asked him. "Aside from apologizing? Candy?"

She certainly looked like she wanted more than an apology.

Nate paused for a while. "I have one. It's this silly thing that kids do to make others forgive them, but it's really effective. They call it the Graceful Fallen Lion."

"Really?" I asked, intrigued.

"Yup. Now, follow after me. Get down on your knees," he said and I followed.

"Bend your head forward."

I did that. This was weird.

"Put your two hands on the floor."

Yup. Then?

"Say you're sorry."

"I'm-what?!"

"Do it."

Hmph. So I DO have to apologize. Pretty slick way of tricking me though.

I sighed and as much as it pained me, I had to say it. "I'm sorry."

The kid finally faced me. Her face was statue-like.

I could only look and hope that she utters even a single word to me.

Finally, she broke into a smile and suddenly hugged me. "You're not mean at all."

I was pretty surprised.

Wow. Little kids weren't crazy, whacko aliens from another planet after all.

"Thanks Nate," I told Nate.

It was nice having him around. At least he solved this mess.

"No problem," he chuckled.

"Ah-ha. So here you were Miss Norah," a voice said behind us.

I turned around and saw that a nurse was looking at us, her hands on her hips.

"Time for your fluids now," she said.

I gulped and looked at Nate pleadingly.

"Hold still now Norah," Dr. Wilforth (the doctor I knocked out cold) said gently as he was preparing his injection. I was back in the hospital bed now.

Inside, my body was panicking. It's like the scene when King Kong or Godzilla came. The cells inside my body were screaming in terror as fear stirred inside me.

No. Pleaaassseeeee no!!

"No. No. No. No. No. Plea-" I began to say when somebody held my hand.

I looked to my right and saw that it was Nate. He was holding my hand and smiling. "Come on Norah, it's not that bad."

I only stared at him.

He really is a nice guy.

"Ready?" the doctor asked.

Nate nodded and smiled at me.

"Yup," I replied.

Ding-dong!

"Dear, could you get that? That must be your dad's friend now," mom's voice issued from the kitchen. I could smell seafood pasta coming from the kitchen.

Mmmm… I can't wait for dinner.

I was back at home now. My parents knew that I was in the hospital a while ago but they didn't know the trouble I caused. My hand was still in a cast. At least it was my left hand. My right hand was the one I used for writing.

We were having a guest tonight. An old friend of dad.

I was walking slowly towards the door.

I still can't stop thinking about Nate. What makes this guy so nice anyway? I don't know why. Maybe any other guy, or person, would've abandoned me. But he stayed and even watched over me.

I found that pretty cool.

I opened the door and beamed. I should make a good impression on the guests.

"Good evening!" I chirped.

I looked at the guest. My jaw dropped.

Heck no.

I grinned sheepishly at him.

Oh haha Fate. VEEERYY FUNNY. I'm simply rolling on the floor now.

"Er… Hi Dr. Wilforth…"


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4 (DETENTION BUDDY)

I was yawning a bit as I propped my hand under my chin, a drowsy look on my face.

Gosh I hate Mondays. I really do. It's the day of the week when my brain ceases to function and everything else around me doesn't seem to disconcert me even one bit.

I simply don't care on Mondays.

"Miss Reed, I know you have high scores in Math but you should pay close attention and I prefer that you be more active," Miss Subner, our Math teacher, said as she passed by me, an eyebrow raised.

I only straightened my back a few millimetres (that's already an improvement) and tried to look like I was interested, which was a miraculous feat. "I'm sorry. Right Miss."

She didn't look impressed and continued discussing the problem on the board. Jeez. If I keep this up, she'll degrade me from an A to a B.

Scary.

But why oh why did they have to make Math the first subject on a Monday? Oh the joy. What better way to kill the brain than start Math on a Monday.

I seriously do not get our schedule. Maybe I could file a report on this.

Suddenly, a paper ball hit the back of my head.

"Ow…" I groaned and looked behind. I scowled.

Great. Tommy again.

He's always been quite a bother to me. I don't know why he's been bothering me a lot these days. Maybe he's got no one else to bother.

I tried to ignore him, like I always do. It wouldn't do me any good to fight with him.

I focused my attention on the board, lest Miss Subner reprimands me again.

Another paper ball hit the back of my head.

Ignore him Norah… Just ignore him…

Another paper ball…

I could nearly snap my pencil in two now…

Another paper ball… That one actually hurt.

THAT'S IT!!!!

"Will you quit it Tommy?!?" I yelled, throwing him an enraged look.

Suddenly, I realized what I did and clapped my hands to my mouth.

Cripes. I've done it again. Why didn't I control my temper??

Miss Subner crossed her arms, looking evidently displeased. "Norah. Detention later at the Music Room. You know you're not supposed to disrupt any of my class discussions. You'll be cleaning all those trophies one by one."

I paled. Trophies in the Music Room? There's like about hundreds of those!!

"B-But… But…" I tried to make a comeback but I couldn't think up of anything smart.

She shook her head, her decision was final. "Music Room. Four o' clock. You had better be there or I'll have you cleaning those trophies every week. Understood?"

I didn't answer. I was thinking of ways on how I'd murder Tommy.

Should I push him off a cliff? Should I throw him into a tank of vicious piranhas?

Oooh. Just wait 'till I get him…

"Miss Norah, understood?" she repeated once more, her tone deadly.

"Of course…" I said glumly and slumped into my seat.

She turned her back and continued writing on the board. I could only write down and control my temper. I swear I will stab Tommy.

Great. Detention right after I get healed of my injury. Simply great. Oh joy.

I opened the door to the music room, it creaked loudly. Jeez this room had the creepiest door ever. Like a horror movie, and I'm just waiting for Dracula to pounce from somewhere.

The room was painted peach with instruments piled in one side, some were in glass cases. There was a long mirror in the middle, clearly about decades old now. It was obvious from its intricate designs. I walked to the shelves, where my work lay.

I could only gape at the figures. I have to clean all of these??

Inside a huge, long shelf were countless trophies, I felt dizzy just by looking at them. And even dizzier with the fact that I'm going to clean all of this.

I sighed. But I have to get this done, or I'll have to suffer deafness soon.

I began opening the case and took out one trophy. I was already provided with a rag to clean all of these. I even got two. I began polishing the statue. Better get used to this.

I had been cleaning statues now for about thirty minutes, and I've only covered about one-fourth of the whole set. I felt tired already, but I knew that I couldn't stop. This had been my routine for the past half hour, and I was getting sick of it.

All of a sudden, something broke my routine as the door creaked open.

I saw who entered the place and gasped.

"Hey… You again," I smiled as I realized that it was Nate who entered the door.

He smiled and he was holding a guitar in his hands. "Hi. I came to return this. You in detention?"

I shrugged. "Yup. I'll deal with it."

"Oh cool. Wait a sec."

He went to one empty casket and placed the guitar there. He approached me and as soon as he saw the rag, he picked it up and began taking one trophy from the shelf. He began polishing it carefully. I only stared at him.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He chuckled. "I'm offended. I'm helping you out of course."

"Oh. You okay with it? We've got a lot of work to do."

He nodded. "I'm fine. I think you really need the help."

I smiled. "Thanks Nate. That's really nice of you."

He nodded. "Sure."

"So, we're schoolmates?"

"I'm fifteen."

"Cool. Same as me. Nice to see you here. Really. What class?"

"Section A. You?"

"B."

"Cool."

We were silent for a while and we continued polishing the statues. I was pretty grateful that he was here though. At least that made me less nervous. Being alone in this place was a terrifying situation to be in.

"I really appreciate you being here you know. Why are you so nice anyway?" I asked him as I placed a polished statue on the table, where all the rest of the clean statues were.

He was silent for a while. Sometimes Nate can be odd.

"I dunno. You need help didn't you? It would pretty much be a jerk of me if I left you here," he replied, but I noticed that he seemed a bit weak. What's wrong with him? He looks pale too and he was covered in cold sweat.

"Aw… Thanks Nate," I replied.

We continued our work for a while. Nick grew paler as we continued. I kept on asking him if he was okay but he said that he was fine.

Finally, we were done and we began placing the trophies inside the shelf. I wiped the sweat from my brow. Whew. I never thought we'd get done.

"Thanks Nate," I grinned as we put the last statue inside the shelf.

Suddenly, he began to sway. I was surprised.

What was happening?

"Nate?" I asked him as I tapped his shoulder.

All of a sudden, he swayed forward and I nearly fell to the floor as his body collapsed on me. I held him and gasped. I felt his neck, he was clammy. He was breathing heavily, irregularly I was panicking inside. His eyes were closed as his head was on my shoulder.

Oh my gosh.

HE FREAKIN' FAINTED!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 (WEIGHT ON MY BACK)

Okay.

Calm down Norah. He's not dead. He's not dead.

Maybe I should give him CPR!!!

Aaargh! No! That's the one for drowning!

Heimlich maneuver!!! Thingy!!!!

Yeah. I'll choke YOU Norah.

Okay. I guess I have no choice but to bring him to the clinic.

Okkkaaaayy Nate. On my back now.

I tried to put him on my back, and I am telling you it was HARD. He was kind of heavy, but I could support him. I carried him carefully on my back when I managed to do so. He slipped off my back from time to time but I was careful to keep him on my back.

I carefully made my way towards the door. It seemed like a really gruelling task, and it was. But I managed, much to my surprise.

I pushed the door open and went outside.

Perfect. Now for the nurse's office.

I walked along the corridor. The nurse's office was a floor down, so I have to take the stairs.

Stairs… Shoot.

This was even harder than I thought… But I'll manage. Nick was nice to me, it's time I return the favour.

I clumsily made my way towards the stairs. Each step brought a fresh pang of pain to my body but I didn't mind. I had to get Nick there.

I looked at him. Poor guy.

What made him faint anyway? That was so odd.

I was already a maladroit person, so this made things worse. I was like a baby learning her new steps.

Heaven was evidently with me as I managed to reach the stairs. I was panting and I felt so tired but I pushed my body to go further. I climbed down the stairs, careful not to fall or else it would mean the end of my life.

Careful… Careful now…

Doink!

Nate's head hit the metal railing. It wasn't anything serious, but it did hurt. Nick didn't move one bit. He was still unconscious.

"Oops. Sorry Nate," I whispered to him.

His forehead was a bit red but I was sure that would go away soon.

At least I hoped it did.

Aaahh. To the nurse's office now.

I looked down. It seemed an awful long trip…

Oh what the heck! I can do this!

I…

I can….

Do this…

Come on…

I was at the end of the stairs now, and at the end of my agony. Only a few steps more and I am officially free from my pain.

One step…

My foot moved.

Yes!

I was finally free from the stairs! Now… To the nurse's office!

I arrived at the nurse's office in a few minutes. Thank God it was a bit closer. I didn't have to suffer immeasurable pain before getting to my destination.

I opened the door, panting. "Miss! He's fainted!"

The nurse hopped off her chair at once and seemed to dither as soon as she saw Nick. "Oooh. This is the third time now… Set him on the bed dear. I'll go get something for him. He'll be fine."

Third time?

This dude faints all the time?

I set him on one bed that was just right for him. He looked paler than ever but I'm sure that the nurse will fix him up.

I grabbed a chair and sat beside him.

Poor Nate.

The nurse went to him and began injecting some fluid into his body. I didn't know what and I was still a bit too tired to ask about it.

"He'll be fine now. Thanks for bringing him in dear," she smiled.

I nodded. "Sure thing."

"Nate! What's going on now?" I heard a familiar voice.

I froze.

Oh no.

Not him.

What the bloody hell is he doing here now???

A guy with short, black hair went in.

Jeez. He was still as handsome as always. He could still sweep a girl off her feet just with his looks.

But why was he here?

He looked surprised to see me. I could see the way his eyes dilated. "Norah?"

I shrugged. No escaping now. "Hi Shane…"

We were silent this time. Boy was this awkward.

How long has it been? Five years? Aack. I cannot believe it.

But wait…

Why is he here??

"What're you doing here?" I asked him.

"Oh. Nate's my brother," he replied.

Brother….

Brother…

B-R-O-T-H-E-R…

Of the same family… Sharing the same parents…

Hold on a sec!! They're BROTHERS?!?!

Nate's his brother???

"Brother?" I echoed in disbelief.

He nodded. "Yup. He's my younger brother…"

"Oh…"

Inside, my mind was in a state of anarchy.

OH MY GOSH!!! Nate is Shane's brother???

Oh my gosh!! Cripes!! Motherbullpoppyrazz!!!!

Oh gosh…

Calm down Norah…

Past is past…

But this is still freaking awkward!! I haven't talked to the guy in years!!

Oh….

I decided to keep calm before I could start to blab about my thoughts. Which I normally do on a regular basis. The incident at the classroom wasn't a first, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the last.

"Does he faint all the time?" I asked Joe.

He nodded. "A bit. I guess he got too tired today. You see, he has diabetes. His body can't absorb enough energy from his sugar. I warned him not to tire himself."

Diabetes? Nate had diabetes?

The fool. He already looked exhausted as he went inside the Music Room. And he still helped me?

Idiot… Bloody, dotty, idiot.

But somehow…

I found that sweet…

Aaaargh. Norah. He is Shane's younger brother. It would be offensive…

Shane pulled up a chair beside me.

Huh. When was the last time we were this close?

"What happened?" he asked me.

I told him what happened in the Music Room.

He shook his head. "Ah. Nate. Always helping others… Typical of him… But thanks Norah for taking care of him. Really. Thanks a lot."

I smiled. "He was nice to me before. I had to return the favour."

"You do have a heart."

"Whatever Shane. Hey, I wasn't THAT mean."

"Kidding. Anyway, it's nice meeting you again Norah. I missed you."

"Aw… I miss me too."

He lightly punched me on the shoulder. "You always did answer back."

I stuck my tongue at him. "Of course."

I looked at Nick. He was such a sweet guy. Probably even my type.

But he's related to Joe… And things would be awkward…

Nah. We'll just stay as good friends. Maybe that's how things were supposed to go down.

Too bad. I had a crush on him already.


	6. Chapter 6

As you have noticed, I have changed the names. :) I had to so I could follow the guidelines. Nick= Nate. And Shane=Joe. That's all.

Tippy, sorry gid ya. Haha. Hay may nagremind sakon nga daan. Then I was like "Whaaat? Really?". Anyway, sorry for the confusion. :)

CHAPTER 6 (I CAN'T SPEAK FRENCH)

Great.

Just great.

Superdidooper great. Nothing could stop my ecstasy.

"Come on Norah, it's not that bad," Nate put on an encouraging smile and began perusing through one book.

I could only scowl. "Oh. It's not okay… I don't like books, remember?"

He shrugged. "Well, can't do anything about that now."

I sighed and rubbed my temples. This is seriously causing me a major headache. I feel like I'm having a brain hemorrhage.

So this is what happened… Rewind please.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two hours ago:

"You can't put me there!! I hate books! I abhor them! I detest them!"

"Sorry Norah. The Photography Club was filled up first and I think the other students had better reasons than you."

"Having fun IS a plausible reason!"

"I don't think so. Besides, you put the Book Lovers Club as your second choice."

"It was a joke! Really! Please not the Book Lovers Club!"

"Well, you shouldn't have treated it like one. Sorry Norah. Book Lovers it is."

"B-But…"

"No."

So that's what happened. I'm stuck here at this… infernal, bestial, malevolent club… The only positive thing about this was that I was with Nate.

But not even that could elate my spirits.

So I did put in the Book Lovers Club as my second choice. But it was purely a joke. And… Okay. So my reasons were quite lame. But isn't having fun a good enough reason?

"Here. Maybe you'd be interested in Quantum Chromodynamics," Nate smiled as he held one dusty book that had 'Guide to Quantum Chromodynamics' printed in fading, gold letters.

I grinned a bit. "Yeah right Nate."

He shrugged and put the book back in it case. "Well, it IS an interesting subject. It tells you what we're made of."

"Quarks?" I asked as I began running my finger on the books on the shelf.

"Well, quarks, yes. But we're also made up of something else. The protons have this gluon thing inside them."

"Is that like glue?"

"Yup. Bingo. The gluon contains most of the energy of the proton but it's just a sticky thing that holds things together. Funny, huh?"

I smiled. I was starting to like this topic. "I suppose so. Did they find out where the protons came from?"

He shook his head, his eyes still focused on his book. It was a wonder he could still pay attention to our conversation.

"No. So far, not yet. It's only the year 2003 anyway. It's hard," he replied and turned one page.

"Mm-hmm. Did they ever think God made it?" I asked, trying to delve even deeper into the topic.

He smiled. "I think they're skeptical about that. But I think so."

I chuckled as a thought occurred to me. "God's a quantum physicist now?"

"I suppose so. Genius, right?"

I smiled. My mood was being uplifted now. I liked Nate. He seemed like a smart guy too. He's kind of different from Shane.

Shoot. Shane. Erase Norah. Don't ever fall in love with Nate.

"You really hate books?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Of course. I don't like stuff like that I guess. I never tried. Seems boring."

That would've offended any book lover. Probably even enraged him to the point that he would be strangling my neck now.

Instead, his mouth curved into a smile, something I didn't expect. "I used to think that way. But then I tried. It's not so bad."

I gave off a snort. "Yeah right."

"Try Norah. It's nice to try new things. You can't be a xenophobe."

I smiled this time. "I guess so… Okay. I'll try. But only because you FORCED me. I will not like it and it won't be my hobby."

He smiled and stood up. His book lay in the table. He shut it. "Nice. I think you'll love this book."

He led me towards the teenager section of the library. It was a long, yellow shelf where the books were neatly arranged. He pulled out one book from the shelf. I looked at it.

It was a bit tattered from old age but it looked okay. It was still useable. The pages had faded into a light, brown color.

"'A Walk to Remember?'" I said as I read the title. "Sorry. I've seen the movie already."

He placed the books in my hands. His hands curled around mine. I started to get a bit nervous inside as my heart hammered.

Okaaay. This is too close for comfort!!!!

I stood frozen in my spot. Like a statue, I was immobile.

"The book is pretty much different. You should try it. Not that I'm insulting the movie," he smiled at me and let go of my hands.

That was a relief. I was panicking inside a while ago…

But why did I like the feeling?

Aaargh! Shut up Norah!

I nodded and looked at the back of the book. "Okay. I'll do that."

He smiled. "Thanks. I'm sure you'll love it."

"Okay. Let's get these now."

Nate picked up his book and we went to the librarian's counter. She had the books scanned and had us fill up something. Suddenly, my eyes fell upon one book displayed on the counter:

'A Guide to the French Language.'

Hm… Maybe I could fool Nate.

"I can speak French you know," I grinned at him.

He looked surprised, but there was no trace of suspicion in his face. "Really?"

"Yeah. I was in Paris for a while. I'm pretty fluent."

He only nodded and looked at me in awe.

Hah. Nate's so cute when he gets duped! Well, I told one truth. I was in Paris. Anyway, this was just for a laugh.

"Let's go," he smiled as we got our books.

"Oui," I replied.

I seriously do not feel good. My hands shivered as I lay in bed, my legs curled up in a feline-like position.

"Honey, you okay?" my mom asked me.

I nodded. "I'm okay. I just need bed rest."

"Nate's here to give you today's homework."

"Okay. Let him in. Thanks."

So I got sick for a few days. I had the flu. But I'm sure I'll be better by tomorrow. In fact, I was feeling better compared to yesterday. Yesterday, it was like hell inside of me.

Nate's been really nice and he's always stopped by to give me the homework for the day. He'd ask my classmates what the work was. That was really nice of him. It was enough to make any girl fall for him.

Except me. Because of Shane.

Ooohhhh…

"Hi Norah," Nate's head popped out from the outside. His bag hung limply from his shoulder.

"Come in Nate," I smiled.

Oh gosh.

Why do I suddenly feel like my temperature has risen?

He sat down beside me and placed his bag on the floor. He began rummaging his bag. "You don't have homework today."

I stared at him and gave off a sigh of relief. "Whew. Good one. Er… Why are you here then?"

He pulled out one book. "Aha. I've got it. Well, you've been chosen to welcome the French Prime Minister's daughter Astin when she visits our school. She and her dad are going around. Now, we'll review your French. I'm sure you know but I wanted to check on you."

For a moment, the whole world stopped spinning as my brain processed what Nate was saying.

Me??? Welcome the French Prime Minister's daughter??? I have to speak FRENCH????

OH NO!!!

"B-But… I can't speak French!!!" I protested, throwing off the covers of my bed and sitting up.

Nate stared at me. "What? You told me you could. You've been chosen. And it's tomorrow."

I rubbed my face. "Whose bright idea was this?"

"Apparently the librarian tipped off the principal. You sure? You seemed pretty convincing back at the library."

"That was a joke!" I cried out in frustration.

I feel like crying now. Really. What have I gotten myself into???

See! It's the book's fault! If it hadn't been there, I would've never have gotten that idea to say that I spoke French! I really hate books!

Calm down Norah…

"Norah. I'll help you. I brought a book. I know how to pronounce words," Nate said, trying to soothe me.

I held his hands. "Really? Will you really help me???"

"Of course."

I squealed and hugged him. "Thanks Nate!"

"No problem," he patted my back.

Hm… Why do I get so friendly around him? This wasn't like me at all. Isn't this easy? I wasn't this friendly when I first met Shane…

Shoot. Shane.

I let go of Nate, feeling ashamed of myself. "So… Um… Let's start…"

Okay. So I've managed to learn important French terms…

Nate was really helpful. I don't know what I'd do without him…

Okay. Review now.

'Welcome to our school'.

Bienvenue à notre….

à notre….

Shoot. What was the last line again?

à notre….

Enfer!!!

Jeez. I know the French term for hell but I can't complete an important opening remark.

Bienvenue à notre école.

Aha! That's it!

Now I'm fine.

I sighed as I turned on the television. I flipped through the channels.

Maybe South Park is on.

All of a sudden, one channel caught my eyes. I stopped right there.

It's the French Prime Minister!! And he's with his daughter!!

They were on a talk show. I forgot the name of the show. The French Prime Minister looked nice but his daughter looked scary. She had this bored expression on her face, as if she had better things to do. She tossed her curly blond hair over her shoulder.

"So, Astin, you like it here?" the host smiled. He was a friendly-looking thirty-year-old with receding hairline. Nevertheless, he didn't look that old.

Astin yawned. "Eet eez okay 'ere… Je devine ainsi. Genre d'alésage cependant."

The audience laughed, as if she had uttered the most adorable word. It was too fast for the audience to understand anyway. Her father looked reproachful and prodded her. She only raised an eyebrow, as if to say 'Well it's true'.

But I managed to get what she was saying. It was hard, but I could list down the words.

I wrote her words down on a piece of paper and began decoding what she said.

Okaayy…

'Je devine ainsi…'

I got the translation of each…

Oh dear… It means 'I guess so'.

Next one. That wasn't too bad though…

'Genre d'alésage cependant…'

Okay…

It means…

'Kind of boring here though…'

I froze and felt goosebumps.

I'm supposed to welcome that brat??? How could she say that??

I was starting to feel nervous. She could insult me in French and probably ask her dad to have the French government chase after me!!

OH NO. OH NO. OH NON.

'Je suis un idiot retardé stupide.'

Translation:

I am a stupid retarded idiot.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 (JEALOUSY)

I was nervous… Heck, that's an understatement about my situation.

I was edgy, jumpy, panicky, tense, uneasy, nervy.

How was I supposed to pull this off??

The answer is simple:

I WON'T pull it off.

Oh come on Norah. Don't be like that. Be positive.

What's so positive about a social death???

Again. Be positive…

"Ouch!" I suddenly exclaimed as I hit something. I rubbed my forehead and realized that I had bumped into an electric post.

Jeez. I was that worried?

I continued walking to school, hoping my forehead looked normal.

Okay, according to one guide I read, hand gestures are good when welcoming guests. Proper hand gestures. So I…

I spread out my arms and grinned. "Welcome. Bienvenue."

Ah. I pronounced that perfectly.

"Mommy, are French people crazy?" I heard a kid whispering to his mother.

"No honey. Only her. Run along now and ignore the deranged woman," his mother told him as she ushered him out of my way. She stared at me.

I stuck my tongue at her. She looked offended but decided to go away with a 'Hmph!'.

Hah. Serves her right.

But I have got to stop this…

Okay school. Here I come…

I was nervous as I was waiting at the stage. The whole school started coming in, taking their seats. The hall was quiet and still a while ago, but now it was plain noisy.

And the noise was only adding to my confusion.

I saw Nate sitting right in front of the stage.

I bit my lower lip. I really need to talk to him.

I slowly made my way towards him. He smiled as he saw me approach him.

"Nate! I can't do this!" I hissed at him.

He placed his hands on my shoulder and had an encouraging smile on his face. "You can do this Norah."

Gosh. I feel like burning up now.

Aaah! Shut up Norah. Think about Shane. Think about Shane.

I smiled, feeling slightly elated. "Thanks."

"Miss Norah?" a voice called me and realized that Mr. Fonda, the school principal, had called me.

"Gotta go," I whispered hastily to Nate.

"Knock them dead," he smiled.

"J'espère ainsi," I replied.

I hope so.

"So, we welcome you to our school and we have a student who's fluent in French,"

That's a total lie.

"And she'll be greeting you in French…"

Oh gosh.

"Right now."

Here comes the pain!

The crowd was silent as I made my way towards the Prime Minister and his daughter. The Prime Minister flashed me a friendly smile. His daughter, however, was a stark contrast to him. She was frowning, and she looked simply bored. I think she'd criticize me if I ever made a mistake.

I gulped. Here goes nothing Norah.

I held the microphone and checked if it was on. It was on.

I took in a deep breath. Focus Norah…

"Um… Bonjour! (Hello) Bienvenue à notre école. (Welcome to our school) Nous sommes heureux de vous avoir ici (we are happy to have you here). Nous espérons que vous vous amusez (we hope you enjoy it here)," I finally said.

Hey. That didn't go badly after all. I did it!

The Prime Minister nodded and smiled. Astin still looked uninterested.

What did I forget again? Oh yeah! Hand gestures!

"Welcome!" I beamed and spread my arms out.

All of a sudden, I hit the microphone stand and it toppled down. It gave off an eerie screech.

Aaahhh!! Why'd I have to bother with hand gestures????

The technical crew set it up once more and I was panicking on stage. I have officially made a fool out of myself in front of a French Prime Minister.

All of a sudden, I heard a cute giggle erupt not far from me.

I was surprised to see that it was Astin. She was beaming now and she was turning red as she couldn't control her laughter.

Wow. She isn't heartless after all! She's not some twisted monster from Greek mythology.

She clapped her hands and approached me. "I like you. You are very 'ilarious. I vant to 'ave lunch with you."

I couldn't believe my ears. This snob wants to have lunch with me??

She suddenly spoke on the microphone. "Merci. J'apprécie déjà ici."

She turned to me. I knew what to do.

Huh. She was nice after all.

I spoke on the microphone. "Thank you. I am already enjoying here."

"Thank you," the French Prime Minister thanked me as he and his daughter stood up to leave.

"It was my pleasure," I replied.

Astin beamed at me. "I 'ad fun. Thank you."

"Smile more often."

"I vill."

Then they left, along with their fifty bodyguards.

It was awkward eating lunch with her. We were always surrounded by her bodyguards and they checked every food that was being prepared. Must be wicked to be this important.

I hurried off to find Nate. Maybe I could ask him to ice cream or something. As a thank you.

I finally found him in one corner, his ear glued to his phone. I got nearer him. I froze as I heard his conversation.

"Aww… How's my baby doing? I miss you Sasha. I'll visit you soon. I love you. Bye," he beamed.

Sasha?

Love you?

Miss you?

He has… a girlfriend?

I felt crushed, and jealousy stirred inside me. It's as if the Titans were inside me, and they were waiting to unleash their fury.

Hmph. I knew I shouldn't have fallen for him.

"Oh. Hi Norah," Nate smiled at me. "What did you want?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Anything wrong?"

"No."

I left him and decided to go back to class.

Oooh. Who needs Nate anyway? I can live without the guy anyway. No problem. Pffft. The world wouldn't stop rotating. My atoms would still be intact. I wouldn't turn into a platypus.

All of a sudden, my phone beeped.

Hm… A text message.

I froze as I read the message and who sent it:

"Meet me tomorrow please? –Shane."

I closed my phone and stuffed it into my pocket.

Great. What does he want?


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8 (SHANE)

I dug my hands into the pockets of my jeans. I tilted my head backwards, looking up at the sky. It was a clear, cerulean blue. My favourite shade of blue.

I stared at the door before me. It was a pink maple door and the sign 'Welcome' hung on it. Even if I were welcome, I wouldn't come here. There were too many memories here. Memories I couldn't take.

What the heck did Shane want me here for anyway?

Ah. Only one way to find out.

I pressed the door bell and a small ring buzzed throughout the house.

Hm…

Another one. And I pressed it once more.

Hey, this seems fun.

I pressed the door bell thrice.

I was actually laughing now. One more time!

I placed my finger on the door bell once more when the door swung open. I saw Shane coming out, a frown on his face. He was wearing a black shirt and some jeans.

"Jeez Norah. Once was enough you know," he rolled his eyes.

I smirked at him. "You're in no position to complain. You dragged me here. What's up?"

He held my hand and led me down the steps. "We are going out on a date."

I froze and stood rigid.

A DATE???? Is he out of his mind???

I yanked my hand out of his and narrowed my eyes at him. "What the motherbullpoppy are you talking about?"

He shrugged. "A date. You know. I know a place that's offering discounts for couples. And I do want to go out with you."

I held up my hands and shook my head defiantly. "Wait a minute. First of all, I never agreed to this. What the heck has gotten into you Shane? I knew you were abnormal but this is beyond whacko."

He frowned, looking hurt. "I am not abnormal. And wouldn't you like a treat? It's by me."

I narrowed my eyes at him and sighed. I paced about, trying to see what I should do.

Okay. So it's HIS treat then… Hm…. That changes everything! Hm….

Okay. I will go out with him, but he has to pay for a lot. I am going to order so much.

"Fine. As long as you pay," I nodded.

He smiled. "Excellent."

WHAT THE MOTHERBULLPOPPY IS THIS?????????

I stared at the restaurant, looking horrified. The place had an extremely cozy and close setting inside. The couples got to have their very own corner and the chairs were extremely close to each other. From time to time, Cupids would sprinkle confetti all over the laughing couples. Sometimes, they'd even lower mistletoe over them, a demand that they should kiss.

It was just too….

Romantic! This was just a casual thing! I was only supposed to take advantage of Shane. Not kiss him and do all those gooey mushy stuff.

"This is… Hell on Earth…" I muttered.

He let out a laugh. "Oh come on Norah. It's not that bad. I doubt mistletoe will be over us."

I gulped. "Can't we find another place?"

He shook his head. "No. I've already booked this. Ah. Here comes our waiter."

A man wearing a tuxedo and holding a clipboard in his hands smiled at us. He made a sweeping gesture with his hand.

"Welcome to Cupid's Cove. We have your seats now. Right beside the band," he smiled and pointed towards our place.

"Good. We even get music," Shane smiled.

I was getting sick inside.

"There's a mistake! We're not a couple!" I exclaimed.

Shane laughed nervously. "Of course we are dear. Silly girl. Confused and too overwhelmed."

"No! I… Er… He's gay!!"

The couples stopped whatever they were doing to take time to stare at us. Shane grew red and I clapped my hands to my mouth.

Shoot. Norah and your big mouth.

"I'm… Er…. Never mind," I said and hurried towards our table before I die of embarrassment.

"Sorry. She's mentally deranged," Shane announced and the crowd laughed.

It was my turn to go red.

"What was that for??" I hissed furiously at him.

He only grinned. "You said I was gay."

I rolled my eyes, completely unable to snap back.

"What's the deal?" I asked Shane as I speared macaroni with my fork. I popped it into my mouth and chewed slowly.

There must be some underlying intentions. This was just odd. If he wanted to be with me, he could've done that a long time ago.

He smiled after taking a sip of his drink. "Is it wrong to spend time with you?"

I snorted. "Yeah right Shane. Tell me."

"No."

I raised an eyebrow. "Alright. Why won't you tell me?"

He wasn't this secretive when we were together.

He motioned me to come forward and cast furtive glances around the place, as if someone was listening in on us.

"You know why?" he whispered.

"No. Why?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Because you're mentally deranged."

I pouted and decided to just shut up. Hmph. There was no point in arguing with Shane. It's like arguing with a witty quantum physicist.

"So, what's up?" I asked him.

He grinned. "What? I just wanted to meet up."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh haha. We can all hold hands together and sing a campfire song any day. You're up to something."

I narrowed my eyes at him, as if he was the most dangerous criminal and I ought not to trust him.

All of a sudden, he scooted nearer to me. My eyes widened.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" I asked him, slowly moving away from him.

This does not look good.

He smiled, and to my annoyance, he moved even closer. "What? I just want to be closer to you."

I pushed him and smiled sarcastically. "This is too close for comfort. Give me space."

"No," he replied and swatted my hands away.

I was getting nervous now. I hadn't been this close to a boy in years. Why did he have to shock me now??

All of a sudden, something was lowering right before us. It was attached to a string and all of a sudden, the musicians behind us began to play a romantic tune. I stared at the thing, almost getting cross-eyed.

"Wha-what?" I sputtered as I saw what it was.

Oh my gosh!! It's a mistletoe!!

Isn't it too early for Christmas???

"Shane… Stay away…" I told him as I backed away. Little by little, my space was running out as he kept on getting closer. Oh gosh. What should I do?

He was grinning and he suddenly placed his hand on my face. I froze up.

"Shane! No!" I cried out and bent my head.

"Don't you miss me?" he asked, his head closer to mine, his lips nearing my mouth.

I recoiled even more and shook my head. "Shane… No… Please…"

I was whimpering inside now. I didn't want to do this… Please don't.

Shane was still getting closer but I only bent my head even more.

Only a few more seconds now…

All of a sudden, he stopped. He smiled and finally moved away. He looked satisfied.

I stared back at him, completely astonished. What the heck was that for? Was he actually testing me?

"Hm… It seems that you're over me," he said.

"Of course I'm over you, you nitwit! Do you think you're that great? And why did you do that??" I retorted heatedly, feeling embarrassed.

Honestly, Shane is a sadist! He just wants to hurt me!

"I didn't do that to hurt you. I was just seeing if you were over me. You didn't try to kiss me back. Now I know you like another guy. Is it Nate?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.

I gulped. "H-How do you know?"

His eyes widened and then he let off a laugh. "Eh? You like my brother? I was just teasing you. Jeez you give up so easily. Hah. Now I know you like Nate!"

I turned red and clapped my hands to my mouth.

Norah you idiot!!!! Why'd you have to have such a big mouth??? He never even knew!!!

"Um… No… That's not true…" I said, coughing.

He was still laughing. "Riiiiggghht. Norah, I know you when you're lying. Your right foot taps the floor, your hands are entwined together and you turn red."

Dang it. He was right. My hands were entwined and my right foot was tapping the floor rapidly. And I have no doubt that I'm turning red.

"Well… It doesn't matter! He's… He's… Oh never mind…" I floundered.

Because he's your brother. That's what I was about to say.

He was holding his glass of water in his hands for a while. I was only silent.

"If it's because he's my brother. That shouldn't matter. The past is past Norah. I wouldn't feel awkward if you started dating Nate."

"R-really? It feels like it…" I replied.

He shook his head. "Nah. We're family. I wouldn't hate Nate even if he dated you. It's okay with me Norah."

"I wasn't asking your permission."

"Well, it seemed like you were. The point is, I don't mind. We're friends now Norah, and if my little brother can give you the happiness that I can't, then it's okay. I have no right to interfere."

I was silent. I hadn't expected Shane to be like this. I thought he'd get angry or something… But he was nice after all. I appreciated it.

"Thanks," I grinned at him, feeling that no other word would be more fitting.

He smiled and kissed my cheek. "Stupid Norah. Of course."

I laughed. "It's been fun, even if I had been forced to go."

"Yeah. I wonder why we fell apart though? We used to have a lot of fun."

I smiled as I remembered the memories. Yeah. What did happen?

"I dunno. We just… did. We fought a lot."

"You know what? I'd be willing to go through those fights again if it means I'd still be with you… But no worries. I've moved on. It just doesn't feel the same."

I laughed and pinched his cheek. "Shane, we're still friends. A lot has changed. But you'll always hold a special place in my heart."

He kissed my forehead this time. "Thank you. You too."

Shane and I went back to their house after eating. I had fun talking about our dates, and it wasn't such a bad relationship after all.

We got to the house and we were in front of the door. I heard a girl's voice say Nate's name.

I cringed inside. That must be Sasha…

"Ah. She's here," Shane smiled.

I smiled a bit, but my expression was far from happy. Sasha… I wonder what she looks like?

Nate opened the door and grinned as he saw us. "Oh hi. Glad to see you back."

Shane shrugged. "It was just a get-together."

Nate nodded and smiled at me. "Hi Norah. It's been a while."

I waved back at him feebly. "Yeah. It sure is."

I should just go home now. If I stay maybe I'll see him making out with Sasha. I couldn't bear to witness that.

"Oh Norah. I'd like you to meet Sasha. I know you'll love her!" Nate said excitedly.

Sasha. His perfect girlfriend. The girl that maybe I couldn't match up to. Or would never match up to.

"Go on," Shane winked at me. I only looked back at him.

I sighed. Oh well. Accept the truth.

"Sure. I'd love to meet Sasha," I said.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9 (A DATE)

I entered the house, it still looked the same. The white blue-dotted curtains were still here, the same peach-colored sofa was still near the window, and the shelf full of different novels could still be seen here. I used to come here often, that's why I'd noticed if there were any differences.

There really aren't.

I sat down on the sofa, feeling comfortable. My hands lay on my lap, entwined together.

That was a sign that I was nervous.

Aaargh. What the heck did she look like? No doubt she's pretty. Really pretty I guess. Nate would like someone pretty. Not someone like me.

I was nervous as I sat down. Where was Sasha anyway? Nate went off to get her somewhere but he's taking an awful lot of time.

I checked my watch.

Okaaay. Maybe not that long. It's only been two minutes, but I still think that's a long time to wait! I mean… Two minutes is like an eternity.

Right? Right? RIGHT????

Aaah shut up Norah. Why am I nervous anyway? Why? Bring it on Sasha. I'm not scared of you. I will never EVER be scared of her. Not ever. Not never…. Not ever… Um… Never… Not in a million years…

Oh do shut up Norah. You just keep on repeating what you say.

I shifted from one position to another. Honestly, Nick is taking too long. The suspense is killing me!

All of a sudden, a furry, brown creature plonked its head on my lap. I looked down and screamed.

I got on the sofa, inching away from the creature.

"OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed.

It was a dog. A Pomeranian. Its tongue stuck out and its little paws were on the sofa. I continued to cringe.

Aaaarrgh! I hate dogs! Since when did Shane get a dog? I've never seen this one before!

I made sweeping gestures with my hands. "Shoo! Shoo! Get away little doggie! Go… Um… Get dirty or something!"

It barked at me, which made me more nervous. I felt like I could cry.

"Naaaaattttteee!!!!" I cried out.

He finally appeared from the back door. He looked surprised as he saw me cowering on the sofa while trying to drag off the monster that was taunting me.

"Oh good. There she is," Nate smiled as he picked up the dog. I sighed in relief as he placed it in his arms. It began to cuddle in his embrace. I calmed down and sat down.

I really do not like dogs.

"Awww… Poor girl. It's just a dog Norah," Nate laughed.

I narrowed my eyes at him and glared at the dog. "I'm scared of dogs."

He shook his head and chuckled. He scratched the ear of the dog. I looked away.

"Ah well. She's a good girl. Ah. Norah, meet Sasha. Sasha, Norah," Nate smiled.

"S-Sasha?" I echoed as I stared incredulously at the dog.

Sasha was a dog? Not some… person?? We aren't even the same species?

"Yup. My lovely Sasha. I told you you'd like her," he smiled.

He held the dog closer to me, close enough for me to pet it. But I didn't. I was still scared.

"This is Sasha? The one you were talking to on the phone?" I asked him.

He blinked at me, Sasha yawned. "Talking to on the phone? Ah. You must've heard the conversation."

I turned a bit red. "Not that I was eavesdropping or anything…"

So that means…

"Yup. I talk to Sasha on the phone a lot. Well, we're pretty tight. The girl a while ago was our cousin Riley. She just went out. I wonder where Shane is though?"

He hummed a song to Sasha.

Deep inside, I was celebrating.

Woah! So he has no girlfriend after all. Yes! Yes!

Ye—

Wait a second.

Why am I so happy??

Oh my gosh.

Does this mean that I'm really in love with Nate?

I looked at him but quickly averted my gaze after a few seconds.

Well, he is pretty nice. He's handsome too. He's smart as well. He's… my type of guy to be honest…

And Shane did say that it would be okay to date him.

Should I really?

"SO little brother!!" a voice boomed as an arm placed itself on my shoulder.

I looked to my back and saw that it was Shane, grinning. Where the heck has he been all the time?

"Hi Shane. Er… Where'd you run off to?" Nate asked.

"Oh nowhere important. Norah has something to say to you," Shane said as he winked at me.

I stared back at him. Giving him the 'what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about?' look. He sighed and smiled.

"She wants a date with you," Shane replied.

I nearly screamed but I squeezed his arm instead.

"Ouch! Er… That was nothing," Shane grinned as Nate gave him a suspicious look.

I could nearly murder Shane. What the heck is he planning????

"Sure Norah. If you want to," Nate said.

I stared back at him, completely not knowing what to do.

This isn't happening… This isn't happening… This is not happening…

Is it?

"Um… Um… R-really?" I said tentatively. Gosh I hoped that I didn't sound lame.

Nate nodded. "Yeah. Totally. It'd be nice to get out."

I nodded, feeling stuporous. I must be dreaming…

"Yup! She says yup! Right Norah? Anyway, I'll be planning the date!" Shane said as he withdrew his arm around me.

"Who gave you the right?!" I protested.

He shrugged. "Knowing you two, you're BOTH hopeless at dating."

I began to smile and punched him on the shoulder. "Oh do shut up."

I smiled at Nate as well. He smiled back.

Wow. I can't believe I'm on a date with him.

Shane is so crazy.

I stood outside the house, in my skirt and a pink top. My hair was tied up in a neat ponytail since I wanted to look clean. I clutched the red bag that was in my hands.

Gosh. I feel so nervous. But I look fine I guess. I look like date material anyway. My mom was sick and tired of my constant questions about my looks. So I guess I do look fine.

Don't I?

Feeling like a fool, I pulled out the small mirror inside my bag. I checked myself.

Yup. I still look fine.

I placed it inside my bag and waited for Nate to come out.

Jeez. This is all Shane's fault. Really. But I am sort of grateful. Still, it would've been nice if I had the courage to ask Nate.

Where the heck was our date anyway? Nate said that Shane told him, so it must be a surprise. I'm sure Nate'll know the way.

Finally, the door clicked open, ending my suspended state. Nate popped out, looking good in a Beatles shirt and jeans. Heck, he even looked good in just uniform.

He smiled at me. "Ready? I got the address, although I don't know where it is. I'v never been here."

I smiled. "We'll find out soon."

Shane… I don't trust you one bit…

We arrived at a blue building with about three stories. It was a few meters away from a mall. The building looked a bit old, and only a few people were entering it. All of them were carrying grocery bags and others looked like they were in a hurry.

Nate held my hand, and my body felt a tingly sensation.

Oh get a grip Norah!

"Let's get in. Shane said to go to the third floor, room C," Nate smiled at me, not letting go of my hand.

I nodded weakly. "Sure."

We stepped inside the building. The inside was very simple, white walls and sofas at the lobby. People were taking the elevator on the way up and few people were milling about. Nate and I looked like the only young ones here. The rest were either old or middle-aged.

We walked towards the elevator and squeezed between a few people. We didn't say anything for a few seconds.

Ping!

I looked up. Third floor. Our stop.

"Let's go," Nate said.

I nodded and followed him outside. We passed by a few rooms. I heard some noise, like the tinkling of pots and pans.

Where did that come from?

Nate and I finally arrived at room C. The sign 'Welcome students!' was on the door.

Students?

We entered the room and got a surprise.

We were surprised to see people dressed in aprons and hairnets, like bakers. There were ovens on the sides of the walls and people were mixing different batters. A woman in a pink, flowery apron approached me. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. She had platinum blond hair and thick-rimmed glasses. She smiled at us.

"You must be the one-day group Shane was talking about. Come in. We've prepared the ingredients for ginger cake. Let's go," she said and led us inside. The people inside smiled as we proceeded to our table. We smiled back.

As we arrived at the table, we were given aprons and me a hairnet. I carefully tied it around my waist and put on the hair net. Nate had a happy expression on his face.

"What's up?" I smiled at him as I poked his nose.

He blinked and grinned. "I love ginger cake, that's all. I'm pretty excited."

Oh. Now I totally get it.

"Could you preheat the oven?" he said as he began segregating the ingredients. I could tell that he looked excited. His movements looked a bit more energetic.

"Sure," I smiled.

We were nearly done now. Nate's put in the milk, egg, baking soda, ginger and flour already. We were just about to place it on the tin. Nate looked like he relished every second, like it was the best thing to do on earth. It was refreshing to see him like this.

Finally, we placed the tin inside the oven. All we had to do was wait now. a bead of sweat trickled down the side of my head. I wiped it away with my handkerchief. I took in a deep breath.

That was pretty tiring, but really fun. The idiot actually set up a good date.

"I need to wash my hands. Come with me?" Nate asked as he held out his hands, which were dusted with flour.

I nodded. "Sure Nate."

We asked the teacher where the comfort room was. She pointed to a door to the far right. We said thank you and proceeded there.

We got inside the comfort room. It was big enough for two people to squeeze in without having to feel uncomfortable. The tiles were blue and there was an apple-like scent.

Nate began washing his hands. I was only silent.

"I loved baking. It's been a while since I've baked. Ginger cake is my favourite. I've never baked with a girl though. You're the first. Shane's a sly one," Nate said and smiled. He gave off a small and barely audible laugh after that.

I could feel my heart beat. Dang. This guy's like Prince Charming! He makes me feel so…

So…

Oh what the heck. Maybe I should start being honest with him?

But still…

Is this a good plan?

Norah, do it. And end things. If he doesn't like you back, period. That's it. But if he does…

I gulped. I should just take my chance.

"Nate…" I said before I could stop myself.

He turned off the faucet and looked at me. "Yup?"

I gulped once more, my hands beginning to shake, which is plain ridiculous.

Then again, nothing made sense to me anymore. Is this even a sensible move???

Or was I as dumb as a tree stump?

Anyway, stupid or not, it needs to be done!

"Nate… I like you," I blurted out.

And at the same time, a loud crashing sound erupted from the outside.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10 (KELLEY)

I curled my hands.

Dang it!!! That was my chance for Pete's sake!!

I feel like banging my head on the sink. Seriously.

"Oh. Someone's dropped something. Well, we better get going Norah. We might get burnt cake," Nate said, apparently not hearing what I just head. What I had just confessed to him.

Which… SUCKS.

I sighed as I followed him the way out. Jeez. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Maybe it was for another time…

I looked at Nate as he let out the cake which smelled quite delicious. I smiled.

Nah. I can wait until next time.

We let out the cake and placed it on the table. The sweet aroma was filling my nose and I just itched to get a taste of it. Nate sliced one piece and placed it on a small platter. He picked up a fork, got a small amount of it and faced me.

"Say ah," he said.

I felt like dying inside.

He was going to feed me???? Oh my gosh!!!

"Um… Um… Uh… Sure Nate," I said.

He smiled and I opened my mouth. I ate the piece.

Mmmm…… This is yummy. And it's even better that Nate fed it to me. I could die in peace now.

I could wait for him. Nothing's stopping me anyway. I've got no troubles ahead of me.

I arrived at school with a jolly expression on my face. I was so happy that I was humming the song "Singing in the Rain."

"I'm siiiiinnngggiiinnnggg in the rain," I sang this time.

The sky looked so much brighter. Isn't the sun wonderful? Ahhh… Even the trash looked like masterpieces that were at par with works of Leonardo da Vinci.

Okay. I think I'm going a bit overboard now.

But I can't help it. My day feels so great.

And it'll even get better when I get to school and see Nate.

I don't know. I feel so inspired to go to school, just to see him. It feels like everything will be alright once he's here. I cannot forget our date. Even if he didn't hear my confession.

I didn't care. I wanted to see Nate.

And I proceeded to school with that huge smile on my face, looking like an idiot, but I didn't care.

I can't believe I'm falling in love again.

I stood on my toes, hoping to see Nate in the throng of students. I couldn't see him.

Huh. He's usually early. Or maybe I got up earlier? Aah. I'm that eager I guess.

I decided to wait for Nate by sitting under a tree. I placed my bag beside me and sat down. I took out my Chemistry notebook and began flipping through my notes.

Wow. Nate's charm is quite effective. I'm actually raring to study Chem!

I flipped through my notes while humming a song. Ah. My day couldn't get any better.

I looked up and finally saw Nate. I grinned widely. I placed my notebook in my bag and stood up.

"Nate!!!!!"

My mouth was shut.

Where did that come from? I didn't say anything…

"Nate!!!" the voice called out once more.

Nate looked around for whoever was calling him. I began to search for the person as well. Where the hoozingdoodingies was this person?

All of a sudden, a blond girl ran towards Nate. She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Nate!! It's been a while!!!" she giggled as she continued hugging him.

I felt like an anvil plonked itself on my head.

Who was this girl? Why is she hugging Nate? And where is my baseball bat when I need it to whack someone into a pulp????????

I was so angry inside. I felt murderous. Picture out Medusa.

Yup. That's the kind of aura I was projecting.

How dare she hug Nate like that???????

She giggled as she dragged Nate off to class. Nate didn't seem to show any kind of protest or annoyance.

He was…

To my horror, smiling. Like they really knew each other.

I could only frown as I saw them walk away.

I nearly forgot how hurt you could be when you're in love.

I smiled as Nate carried my books. It was such a sweet gesture. It nearly makes me forget about the incident a while ago.

"Thanks Nate. And for the date too," I said.

He smiled at me. "It's no problem."

Ah. This is heaven indeed. I love this. No tramp is going to ruin my day.

Okay. Maybe using tramp is a harsh term. But hey, I feel good when I use it.

"Nate!" a voice said.

Dang it. The tramp's back.

She smiled as she saw us. She had blond hair reaching to her hips and she had a few freckles on her face. She had clear blue eyes and great lips. She was pretty, I decided.

"Oh. Norah. This is Kelley. An old friend of mine. She just transferred here," Nate introduced her.

She smiled at me. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, trying to flash a genuine smile.

Which is causing me immense pain. But I couldn't act rude in front of Nate.

Huh. Old friend eh? Were they more than that before?

Aaahh! Stop it Norah!

All of a sudden, the bell for first period rang. Students began rushing towards the classrooms.

"Nate, you go on ahead. I need to talk to Norah," Kelley smiled sweetly.

Uh-oh. What did she want?

Ah well. She must be friendly and nice. She is Nate's friend after all.

"Oh okay, I'll drop these on your desk Norah," Nate smiled as he walked off. Kelley and I waved at him.

When he was out of view, Kelley turned to me. She was smiling so sweetly.

Huh. She must want to be friends. She looks like she wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Norah. Hi. I… er… Just wanted to say something important," she said, still smiling sweetly.

I grinned. "What?"

She giggled.

"Stay away from Nate. Tramp."


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 (WORST DAY EVER)

I backed away from her, my fists clenched.

So it's this huh? I knew something like this would happen. But I thought that I could trust her. I really did.

She was still smiling sweetly at me, as if we had been discussing about a tea party. I realized that Nate was actually watching us. Of course she wouldn't want any trouble.

She grinned as she patted my shoulder. "Don't forget what I said. See you Norah."

I could only stand, my expression unchanging.

I hate her.

"That… Kelley… Thinks… She… Can… Do… Anything… She… Wants… Well… How's… This?!?!" I huffed as I looked out the window.

"I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I huffed once more. I felt out of breath. All the anger has drained my energy, only to be replaced with fiery rage.

Who the heck does she think she is?! Calling me a tramp!! Excuse me!!!

Leche!!

I sighed. Calm down Norah. Do not deal with this the violent way. You are a nice girl, and she's… she's…

She's a cow!!

Aarrrggh! How am I supposed to calm down now?

I looked around. Thank God I was all alone. I could let my anger out now. My friends Shannon and Kirstie were wondering why I was left all alone here. Well, I had some 'stuff' to do. Which was to vent my anger.

I walked around the classroom. I scowled as I saw Kelley's desk.

Pfft. And she had to be in my class too! Oh motherbullpoppycrayola. I super hate her. REALLY.

I began to strangle an imaginary neck in thin air.

If only I could do THAT to her.

All of a sudden, something caught my eye. It was a picture that was taped to her desk. I craned my neck and got a closer look.

It was her with Nate, her hand wrapped around his neck like a snake. And she's wearing stupid sunglasses paired with stupid clothes and topped off with stupid shoes. And of course, they're all worn by a stupid person.

I bit my lip as an idea crossed my mind.

Norah… Resist temptation.

Before I could stop myself, I started pulling a pen from my pocket. I popped off the cap.

Norah… Think rationally.

But I didn't care anymore. I was freaking mad.

I began drawing a moustache on her face.

Ooohh.. Add some horns.

And this tail…

And black out her eyes…

And place some hair over here…

And…

Voila!

I grinned as I looked at my work. Kelley looked beyond recognition as her face was blotted with horns, her eyes completely black and hair was all over her.

I smiled.

Mission accomplished.

Suddenly, my tummy grumbled. I patted my hand on it.

Hm… I must be really hungry now. My stomach has never grumbled like this before.

Ah. I should be off to get myself some recess.

I walked towards the door. I pushed it open and…

BANG!

A cry of pain followed after that. I gasped.

Oh my gosh!!! Who the heck did I hit this time??????

I rushed outside and was about to apologize when I saw who was on the floor.

She was gingerly touching her nose, which seemed to be bleeding. Droplets of blood dropped on her expensive-looking shirt and she was glaring at me. People around her were laughing. She must've looked really funny when she fell to the floor. I wish I would've seen that moment.

"You idiot!! What did you do??" she yelled at me as she staggered to get up.

I shrugged, and thank the gods I managed to suppress my smile. I would've made things worse. "Oops. Sorry."

"Aw… Little Kelley's shirt got stained. Tell me Kelley, how much did that Dolce and Gabbana shirt cost?" my friend Shannon sneered and everyone laughed.

Wow. Everyone seems to hate her.

"Kelley!" a voice pierced through the crowd.

Oh no… Please not him.

To my horror, Nate was approaching Kelley and he helped her stand up. Everyone fell silent.

"Nate… They were being mean to me!" Kelley pouted to him.

Shannon rolled her eyes. I cannot believe this girl. She was the one going and out and bullying others!

"You're all jerks. And Norah, I expected better of you. I didn't know you'd pick on a newcomer. Come on Kelley," Nate said as he dragged off Kelley.

Kelley, although having a nose broken, had a triumphant grin on her face. She made an L sign with her hand before she walked off.

Everyone knows what that means.

As if I couldn't get any angrier, Kelley suddenly pulled Nate's neck and kissed him.

We all stood there watching… gaping.

WTH???????!!!!!!!!!

She smirked while Nate still looked shocked. They decided to continue walking while Kelley sneered at me.

I stood there, feeling horrible. Great. Now Nate hates me…

AND THAT TRAMP KISSED HIM!!!!

I felt like crying. This was so wrong. It's as if I did something bad. I wished Nate had listened to my side. And that tramp!!!

Kirstie patted my shoulder. "Hey, cheer up Norah. It's Kelley's fault. I swear she is so annoying. Why'd she have to kiss Nate? Jeez!"

Shannon snorted. "And she kept on showing off that shirt of hers. Hah. Thanks for ruining it Norah, really. A minute more about that blasted shirt and I would've gouged my eyes out. Cheer up."

I smiled a bit.

Yeah. I should.

But why do I feel like crying?

I began packing my things into my bag.

Ah. Thank God the day's over.

And Kelley was weird. Why did she suddenly chat to me about shoes? I thought we weren't on speaking terms. Jeez. She seriously has a problem with the mind.

I was fixing my bag when I heard a scream.

"My wallet's missing!!!"

All heads turned to look for the source. We realized that it was Kelley since she was violently rummaging through her bag, and no one would be able to scream like that.

"My wallet! My wallet!" she continued to screech.

Shannon rolled her eyes. "Stupid. Who could lose a wallet here? Jeez."

Kirstie shrugged and began to sing. "I don't wanna be a stupid girl."

I grinned. Hah. She deserved it.

"Nobody leaves this room!" Kelley screamed.

We all stared at her.

"Who do you think you are, eh?" our classmate Matt retorted.

"No. One. Moves. I think someone took it!" Kelley answered.

What?? Now she's saying we're thieves?? This girl is unbelievable!

"What? You nuts?" Sky replied as he glared at her. As far as I knew, Sky had hockey practice every afternoon, and he hated being late.

Kelley had her hands on her hips, as if challenging him. "Well, you have nothing to be scared of if you didn't take it. If anyone leaves, I'll report them to the principal as my suspicion. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

Everyone grew silent. For the first time, she said something logical. It was a major breakthrough on her part, since it seemed like a deed that was deemed impossible.

"Fine. We'll go through with it," I said, challenging her.

She turned to face me. "Oh? Fine Norah. Why don't we start with you?"

I sneered. "Fine."

I placed my bag on my desk and folded my arms. "I didn't do it. Really."

"We'll see."

She walked towards me and unzipped my bag. I stood rooted to my spot.

I had nothing to fear. I didn't do it, and she's just messed up.

She's just stupid and she misplaced…

"Norah! How could you?" she gasped.

I swivelled around to face her. What now??

To my horror, she pulled out a pink wallet from my bag. Everyone was staring at me.

No… No… I didn't do it…

I felt cold. So cold. Was this even real now? Please tell me that all of this is a dream… A horrible, twisted nightmare…

"Hey! I swear I didn't know that it was there!" I protested, but the looks of the people around me told me that I didn't look convincing. After all, there was evidence before them. And that evidence was pinpointing to me.

"Thief! And… You really are despicable…" she said as she pulled out something.

I gasped in horror.

The picture that I doodled on a while ago… with the tails and horns and everything.

"Tell me, did you do this?" Kelley asked, a deadly tone to her voice.

I was at a loss for words for a few seconds.

What am I supposed to do?

"Did you?" Kelley asked again.

I gulped. "I did… But I didn't take your wallet. Really."

"'I didn't take your wallet. Really'. Oh please. That's an old excuse," she mocked me. She walked towards me.

Oh gosh. Why is this happening? I didn't take it!

I gasped as I realized something.

No wonder she was talking to me. She slipped those in when nobody was looking.

I was about to defend myself when she slapped my face.

I could only freeze, and my face stung.

"Hey!!" I heard Shannon yell.

Kelley pursed her lips. "Hmph. No wonder Nate doesn't like you. You're pathetic. You just don't want me close to him. Well here's a thing Norah, he's never liked you, he doesn't like you now, and he'll never ever like you. No matter what you do."

"That's… Not… It…" I said, feeling tears form in my eyes.

"Hah. Tell me Norah, do you like him?"

I was silent. I gingerly touched my face. It hurt. Her words hurt.

"Pathetic. You can't be honest, can you? Knew it. Coward."

Suddenly, I was drenched in water. My hair was wet and I realized that Kelley had opened a bottle of water and spilled its contents over me.

"You deserved that," Kelley sneered.

"You jerk!!" Shannon yelled and tried to hit Kelley but my classmates stopped her.

"A cowardly thief who can't be honest and who needs others to stand up for her. Simply… Lame," Kelley said, making a loser sign with her hand.

To my horror, I was crying and I started to run towards the door. I grabbed my bag along the way.

I need to get out of here.

I ran past people, bumping a few along the way. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care.

I needed to get out of here. Away from my classmates. Away from Kelley. Away from Nate.

'Why is this happening?' I thought as I furiously blinked my tears away.

I sighed and took a deep breath as I sat on the stone bench in the school gardens.

I buried my face in my hands.

I cannot believe Kelley. She has officially made this day the worst day ever. I could still feel the pain from the stares of my classmates.

I didn't do it… I didn't do it…

I was about to cry again when I stopped myself. My parents might endlessly pester me about what happened if I keep this up.

"Norah," a familiar voice said.

I looked up and saw that it was Shane.

He was grinning at me. "Heya."

I smiled a bit, the first time since I cried. I was kind of grateful that he was here. Even if he had to see me in such a disastrous state.

"Hi. What're you doing here?" I asked him.

"Nothing. I felt like it," he smiled.

Felt like it. That is so Shane.

Anyway, I needed to go.

I stood up. "I need to go Shane. Bye."

All of a sudden, he held my hand. I stopped.

"Can I come with you?" he asked me.

I shrugged. "Sure Shane."

He grinned. I noticed that he still wouldn't let go of my hand. I let him though. It kind of felt nice.

We were silent as we walked around. Shane was looking around the school. I could only smile since he looked so goofy.

"Wait! Stop here!" he said and I halted.

"What now?" I asked, laughing.

"I need to find a four-leaf clover. Come on," he said as he approached one patch and began looking for one.

I could only laugh. I nearly forgot that Shane had this weird habit of always finding a four-leaf clover. It felt nice to have someone who wouldn't judge me. It felt nice to be stuck with a funny idiot like him.

As I continued to laugh, tears were beginning to pour down my cheeks anymore.

I missed Shane. I wish that I could tell him what happened.

I began to sniff.

"Norah?"

I began to cry once more, this time not letting the tears stop. "I've had an awful day Shane… Really… I feel so sad…"

The hurt began to blossom in my chest once more, and I felt like suffocating.

Hands wrapped themselves around me. Shane patted my head.

"I'm so sorry Norah…" he said.

I only cried.

We were silent for a few moments.

"Want to go somewhere?" Shane asked.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12 (MUSEUM)

I felt much better now that Shane was at my side. To be honest, he sort of saved me. Kind of like those knights-in-shining-armour type of guy, and he just saved me from an ogre of a day.

At times my hand would brush against his but then I'd pull away. After all, we were just roaming around town as 'friends'. This was no opportunity to rekindle our old flame.

Whatever. I just wanted to get away from stuff.

Stupid Nate. Stupid Nate. I really hate him now. How could he do that to me? And that Medusa!! Seriously, all that's left is to have her hair be composed of snakes!

"Norah, quit staring at the ground as if it did something to you," Shane smiled.

Oops. Have I been staring at the pavement that long? Ah well, I was busy plotting on how I could place Kelley in a pit full of vicious lions. That would be a picture-perfect moment. I began to feel better just thinking about it.

"Sorry," I said and began looking up the sky. Gray clouds had begun to form in the sky, making the area look grim. Pretty soon I guess droplets of rain would start pouring down violently.

"Let's go there," Shane said, pointing to a building.

I looked up, since I was still in a foul mood and was still staring at the pavement. The building was wide and had probably about two stories. It was decorated with ancient-looking windows that looked even older in the dark weather. People were milling in and out of it. It was painted a dark blue and there was a wide entrance. I immediately recognized the place.

I used to go here during the summer a few years ago, for art class. They had an excellent program here at the 'Golvadeir Museum of Arts', and the best thing was that they'd display the best artworks of those from the workshop in a gallery. Mine was displayed, and it would be there for a very long time. In fact, the instructor was so delighted by my work that she wanted to stay in the museum forever.

Yeah right. But I did feel flattered. Or maybe even flattened.

The artwork was about…

My thoughts stopped to a screeching halt right there.

No… I don't want to remember that.

I looked at Shane and suddenly grew red. He looked at me with a curious expression on his face.

"What's wrong? You think I'm handsome, don't you?" he grinned mischievously at me.

I gasped and slapped the back of his head. "Over my dead, corrupted and maggot-ridden body!"

He only chuckled, apparently not taking me seriously and continued directing me towards the museum.

I huffed. Whatever. He's so cocky because he's so handsome.

"Let's get you inside," Shane said as he looked at the sky, which had grown to a darker shade. "You might get wet and die of a cold."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You want to die?"

"In your arms, yes."

I only stared at him and blushed. He continued to grin, apparently feeling satisfied. Well, he succeeded.

I couldn't stop blushing. Why'd the pea brain have to say that?!?

We got inside, and sure enough it began to pour. The museum was slowly being vacated and I saw some children running about, with the curator running after them in panted breaths. I only smiled.

"Hey, you've got something in your eye," he said. "Did you cry?"

I noticed that a tiny droplet from the rain had managed to land itself on my cheek. I brushed it away quickly with the back of my hand. "Nope. Just a rain droplet."

"I'll bet that if I was a teardrop in your eye, you wouldn't cry," he said and I had a feeling that I should've just punched him.

But instead, I decided to just play along. "Why?"

"Because you wouldn't want to lose me."

I laughed hard. When did Shane get so corny?

"That's so corny!" I laughed.

He shrugged. "What? I was trying to see if it worked."

"Well, you totally and utterly sucked."

He tried to put on a wounded face.

"But it was sweet," I replied and grinned at him.

He began to smile. "Yey. Come on, let's explore the place a bit more."

I shrugged and let him lead me around the place; which was funny since it was his first time here but I just went with the flow. I've never seen him this excited.

We ventured into the painting gallery. There were a few local artists, which were just as good as the ones who were already world-renowned. And more than once Shane made a kid cry because he threatened to take away a kid's lollipop. I had to slap him in the back of the head several times. He's such an idiot, but being around him just makes me feel better.

I was staring at a painting of lilies when I realized that Shane had suddenly disappeared. I stood at the tip of toes to get a better view of the place. There were only a few people, considering that Shane scared most of the kids. But I didn't see Shane?

Where the heck was he?

I roamed around and craned my neck in different angles to be able to see him. But he was nowhere in sight. I was at the pottery gallery now, and the place was empty.

"Shane?" I finally said out loud.

No response.

"Shane?" I repeated.

Still silence. I began to feel scared.

"Shane!" I called out, sounding both scared and worried.

"Shane!" my own voice echoed back.

Huh? What the heck was that?

I traced back to its source. I looked at a huge Chinese pot.

Something's fishy.

I walked over to its side and sure enough saw Shane squatting and sniggering. He had a camera in his hand.

"Aw… You were so worried about me. The expression, the tone. It was all so perfect. I am so glad I recorded it," he grinned at me as he played the video from his camera. My voice called out once more, and I realized just how pathetic I sounded.

I slapped him on the shoulder. "You idiot! I thought something happened to you!"

He finally stood up and walked away from the Chinese pot. He was grinning triumphantly. "Well, it just shows that you're worried."

"I am not!" I protested.

"Yes you are," he continued to tease me unrelentingly.

"No!" I said and in my fury, had to hold on to the Chinese pot. All of a sudden, I felt something in my hands.

I gasped in horror as I realized that I had destroyed a part of the pot. Shane could only gape back at me.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!! Why do these type of things happen to me all the time?? Must I suffer a lifetime of misfortunes??? Hello Fates!! Lachesis, Atropos and Clothos!! I don't think you're being fair to me!!

"Shane!! The pot!!" I began to babble frantically as my mind tried desperately to come up with a solution. None came to mind.

"I don't know! You broke it!" he replied and stared at me helplessly.

Oohh.. He does have a point. I did break it…

"But you drove me to it!" I said, hoping he'd feel guilty and help me clean this mess up.

Unfortunately, he looked like he would not take any part in all of this. Oh my gosh. I think Eris has just given me the worst kind of misfortune ever.

I held up my hands. "Look, maybe we can get away. We'll just run off and… I'll fix this… Somehow…"

"Oh I don't think that would be necessary," a cold voice said behind us.

I froze and my hairs stood up.

Oh… Cripes…

I turned around and saw a man staring at me with a raised eyebrow and a disapproving frown on his face. He did not look happy at all. He had curly brown hair and cold blue eyes that made me wonder if he was really human.

"Now, shall we go to my office and solve this matter?" he asked.

I had a plan… Of course… Why hadn't I thought of that? How stupid of me!

Now to employ it…

"Shane…" I whispered to him so that the hawk wouldn't hear us.

"What?" he hissed back.

"RUN!!!"

I took his hand and began to run off.

Of course. When all else fails, retreat. Duh.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 12 (ARTIST'S BITTER MASTERPIECES)

"Why'd you have to run? Now he added like an extra hour to our shift," Shane complained as he mopped up the floor, leaving rivulets of water on the surface.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. Despite the cold weather outside, I was really sweaty. "Sorry. I panicked okay? Let's just get this job done and finally go home."

Shane and I didn't manage to pull off a clean exit just like Indiana Jones. We eventually got caught when this bull of a security guard blocked the way and managed to stop us in our tracks. The guy who we escaped from got so furious that I could swear that I saw steam issuing in thick clouds of smoke from his head. He was the curator of the museum and deemed it suitable that we be punished by cleaning up one part of the gallery until he was satisfied.

This was no joke.

He wouldn't be satisfied, and I swear on peanut butter that he was even doing it on purpose. But we couldn't do anything, so we had to just carry out our sentence. Hey, at least we didn't wind up in jail and I wouldn't have had my mother yelling at me or something.

Shane seemed tired and always complained. But then again, he was always like that. I smiled at him as I mopped up a spot. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

Shoot. He saw me?

I immediately redirected my focus to mopping the place. "Nothing."

He only shrugged, and we remained quiet as we carried on with our work. Finally, we were done after an hour. Thank the heavens that the curator finally thought that he should let us go. After this, I am so going to blab how awful the man is. Yeesh. He's like a troll, only ten times nastier.

Shane held my hand after we placed the equipment back in a broom closet. I immediately let go. He only looked at me.

"Huh. I see. No worries," he shrugged and continued looking forward, as if nothing had happened.

I could only turn red. I still don't feel so comfortable about him holding my hand. A part of me is okay with it, but a part of me feels pain. Oh I don't know.

"Let's check out the gallery. The one with the display of amateur artists," Shane said excitedly and this time yanked me so hard that I nearly fell to the floor.

We finally arrived at the place, with Shane dragging me with such force. My hand grew red, and I had to slap him.

He began to stare at the paintings on the wall while I leaned on a wall. My feet tapped the floor from time to time as I looked about.

Hm. I haven't been in this place for quite a while. It doesn't seem changed.

"Norah," Shane suddenly whispered.

I could only look back and give him a look that said 'What?'

He went closer to me, very slowly. My eyes grew wide.

Oh my gosh! Peanutbutterfudge! What the heck is he doing???

He stood in front of me, so very close now. I could only stare at him, completely nailed to the spot.

"Don't move," he said gently.

I only closed my eyes.

Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. I was panicking inside.

I waited for a few seconds. Oh gosh.

"There. Done," he smiled.

I opened my eyes. Huh? What just happened?

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded.

He really wasn't about to-?

"There was an ant in your hair," he chuckled. "No problem now."

Oh! So it was an ant! Jeez!

Nevertheless, my cheeks began to feel hot. How could I even think that??? Duh Norah! Duuuuhhh!!

"What? You thought I'd kiss you?" Shane said with a teasing expression on his face.

"No! Dimwit!" I said and began to grab a painting from the wall so that I could throw it at him.

Wait. Oh shoot. I shouldn't be breaking stuff. Cripes. I always forget that.

I sighed and let go of the painting. Thank God I actually listened to my common sense. My body could only take so much punishment.

I sighed. "Anyway, let's just go home."

"Wait. A few more seconds," Shane said.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh fine. A few more seconds."

"Yey! Maybe ten minutes! Is that okay with you? Of course it's okay! Thanks!" he grinned excitedly and pecked me on the cheek. He then began looking at the paintings on the wall.

I never knew that I could turn scarlet.

I could only observe Shane as he went about looking at the exhibits. It was like a monkey learning how to use his own tools. Hm… Yeah… Shane does remind me of a monkey at times. Maybe a chimpanzee or an orangutan.

"Norah? You have an artwork here?" Shane asked as he looked at a painting.

I smiled. It was about time that he noticed that. "Yup. It's called 'Day'."

"Well, it stinks."

I glared at him.

He broke into laughter. "I was just kidding. It's nice, really."

"Thank you."

The painting had half of its background painted a deep color of blue, and the other half was of a bright and eye-catching hue of yellow. There were the sun and the moon. On the moon's side, stars scattered beautifully across the canvas in different formations. The sun had clouds enveloping it, as if embracing it. Its rays were a brilliant color of orange mixed with yellow. I remember this. It took me three days, and well, Shane was the inspiration behind it.

"What made you think of this?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the painting.

"You," I replied immediately and he only looked at me. "I figured we were like the two halves of day. There has to be two to make one whole day, but we never meet. The morning tries to chase the night, but when everything's dark, the sun has to go away. I guess we're like that. We wanted to be together, but we never really got along. We tried to make it work, but something stops us. Kind of corny, I know. But I was thinking deeply about it."

He was only silent.

"It still stinks," he replied and grinned mischievously.

"Oh shut up Shane!" I retorted.

He laughed. "I kid. Wow. This is a real piece of work Norah. I… never knew you'd use art as a medium for what you felt."

"Well, I did. It felt good. I was originally planning to have a painting of a guy getting gobbled up by snakes but this one seemed more exhibit-worthy."

It was his turn to scowl. "Oh shut up Norah."

"Now we're even."

We smiled at each other.

"You really… felt bad, didn't you? I realized that when you never called," he said, all teasing gone from his voice.

I nodded. "Yeah… I did. We had fun, but I guess it just wasn't supposed to be…"

"I think about you, you know."

"Do you really?"

"Always. Do you think about me?"

I was silent for about three seconds.

"Yup…"

He shuffled forward. I was now staring directly into his eyes.

"You know what Norah?" he asked, now so close to me.

"Shane…" I tried to push him away since I was feeling uncomfortable.

He didn't budge, not even a millimetre. "No. I have to say this. You know what Norah?"

I gulped. "What?"

"I still love you."

Then he kissed me.

And all of a sudden, everything went black.

I woke up the next morning curled up in a fluffy bed.

Whoa. What just happened?

I yawned and stretched my arms. Hm… The bed's nice… Wait…

WAIT A JELLY BUTTER MINUTE.

This is not my bed!

This time I took a good look around my surroundings. There were clean white curtains on the windows and I swear that I did not have a brown cabinet with posters of Simple Plan on it. This looked like Shane's room.

Where was I?

I looked at my clothes. I was now wearing a loose gray shirt and some shorts.

Hey, where'd my clothes go? What happened? Where's Shane?

I paused for a minute, trying to figure things out. Then I felt like screaming.

I blacked out!! What happened???? What did Shane do??? Where are my clothes????

Don't tell me…

NOOOOO!!! I cannot fudging lose that 'now'!! I'm too young!!! Oh my gosh!!!! Shane you pervert!!!! How could he deflower me????? And I was unconscious too!!!!!

And in the middle of my panic, the door began to click open. Then he entered the place.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14 (WHISKED AWAY)

Nate walked inside, his face expressionless. I hid under the sheets and felt my cheeks heat up. What's he doing here????

"Go away!!" I yelled at him.

I can't talk to him now and I don't think that I could talk to him ever! After what he did? It's not easy to forgive what he made me go through. It was like waking up in Vegas and the place used to be a funhouse, but now it's full of evil clowns and I keep telling myself that I'll be okay, when I'm really not.

Wow. I really am a music fan. Now, to get to the point.

"Norah, I'm sorry," Nate said as he sat beside me. I scurried backwards and…

"Ouch!" I yelped.

I rubbed the back of my head. Jeez. I hit the wall when I panicked.

Nate stifled a laugh.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh haha. Funny Nate. What do you want? Don't you think I've been through a lot lately?"

He grew quiet. "I came to say that I was sorry. I heard that you really didn't do it, and Kelley eventually said that she set you up. I got mad, and I realized how hurtful I must've sounded. I'm really sorry Norah."

I crossed my arms. "It's okay. I'm fine now. But I was hurt, don't forget that. I really was hurt."

He nodded, understanding me.

Darn it. Why does he have to look so cute? I feel my heart softening.

Aargh! Norah. Control. Control.

But could I possibly still like him?

"I am. She was my best friend during childhood. I never knew that she could do something…" he started to say when he stopped. He seemed to ponder over the word.

"You mean grotesquely evil?" I supplied.

"Not really, but something like that. Look, I'm really sorry Norah. I shouldn't have sided with here just because she was my friend. Please forgive me?" he said, his eyes pleading.

I looked away.

Don't look Norah… Don't look… Don't you dare look!

Arrgh. But this is so hard.

I sighed. "Fine. I forgive you, but on one condition."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You have to beg for my forgiveness."

His eyes widened. "What??"

Hah. Gotcha.

"Beg or be forever seeking my forgiveness," I smirked.

He sighed and smiled. "Would you rather get a kiss instead?"

I turned red. "Naate!! How dare you???"

How could he say that?? He's absolutely insane!

But then… maybe a kiss would be lovely… Even just a peck on the cheek.

OH shut the peanut butter up Norah.

He shrugged. "What? I thought you loved that."

"No! No way would I kiss you!!"

He looked blank for a while when he let out a laugh. "No silly! I meant Hershey's Kisses chocolate. I call a singular one a kiss. Here, I got you some chocolate. Have one."

He pulled out the chocolate from his pocket and dropped it on my hand.

A kiss… It's chocolate…

You are stupid Norah. Seriously.

"Oh… Thanks. This is my favourite, how'd you know?" I asked him, still feeling embarrassed. Jeez. Why do I always end up in situations like this??

"You told me once, I just remembered. I hope it makes you feel better, unless you want a real kiss," he said and chuckled. He pinched my cheek and I only grew red.

Oh gosh this is so embarrassing.

"No… This is fine… Thanks…" I said and began chewing the chocolate.

Jeez. Nate still is sweet. Maybe I should forgive him.

"I'm sorry. Really. If I can do anything to make it up to you, tell me Norah. I don't like seeing you get hurt. I've grown kind of fond of you," he said.

I smiled. "Sure. Thanks."

My cheeks burned once more, probably at the same temperature as the sun.

I did miss Nate. Ah well, it's not really his fault. I still want to be friends with him.

Wait a second…

SHANE!!!

What did he do to me???

"Nate! What did Shane do to me???" I asked him, feeling my breath coming short.

Oh my gosh. No… No… No… I can't lose 'that' now!!!!

He's stripped me of all of my microscopic dignity!

"Um… He took you home after the trip to the museum. Then he placed you here in his room," Nate explained.

I turned pale. "Where are my clothes??"

"In the laundry. He had to take those off of course. You wouldn't be able to relax."

Relax??? Why would I feel relaxed doing that???

The jerk!!!

I was panicking inside. Calm down Norah… Calm down… Calm…

"Hey Norah. You're up?" I heard Shane say as he appeared inside the room.

THE JERK!!!

I leapt from the bed and poked a finger at his chest. "Look! Why'd you take me here??? What did you do to me???"

He looked shocked. "Huh? I took you here because you fainted. Then it rained so I had to take your clothes off. Well, not me, mom did that. Then I left you here to go to sleep. Simple as that."

I blinked back.

So I still have 'it'…

"Oh… Okay… I guess so… Erm… Thanks anyway," I said and sighed in relief.

Whew. He didn't do it after all… I'm safe! Yes!

Nate smiled, apparently knowing what I had meant. I turned pink. Shane, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any sort of suspicion.

Suddenly, Nate's phone rang. "Hello?"

While he was talking on the phone, I looked at Shane.

"Did you mean what you said?" I whispered to him.

He smiled. "Of course I did. Do you feel the same way?"

I sighed. "Shane… I don't know what to say…"

"I need an answer soon, preferably now…"

I frowned. "I can't give you one now. I can't answer you, I'm sorry."

He smiled once more. "I'll get my answer, you'll see."

I could only sigh once more.

I guess it would be nice to be back with Shane. He's funny, sweet and really handsome and all.

But I think that I really like Nate now. I'm really over Shane. Jeez. I'm torn between two brothers.

"Norah, the original script for the Princess and the Bard has been approved, and you're the princess," Nate said after the call ended.

My jaw dropped.

WHAT?????

I sighed as I was backstage. My hair was in curls and my knees were shaking a bit. The audience never looked so massive before.

Okay, I can do this. The only hard part was the falling from the tower scene. It shouldn't be a problem, and that's the last scene.

Okay. So the audience were just family members and a few kids. We were staging an original play written by our classmate Van Wilder and it's pretty short. It was supposed to be our class project.

But still… I feel nervous.

Oh. And guess what? Nate's the bard who gets the princess.

I sighed. My day couldn't get any weirder.

Suddenly, someone placed their hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Nate. He looked absolutely ravishing in his outfit and his brown hair was neatly fixed.

My heart began to go thump.

"Ready?" he grinned at me.

I nodded. "Yup."

"Good luck," he said and unexpectedly pecked me on the cheek.

I could only smile back at him and turn a deep shade of scarlet.

"Thanks," I whispered as he was gone.

Well, nothing could go wrong, could it?

"Fair Nathaniel, I shall come down now, and please do catch me. Then we can get married," I recited and looked at Nate.

Well, we've practiced this already, so here goes nothing.

Oh my gosh!!! I'm literally falling into Nate's arms!!

And I pick now to feel all hyper. I took in a deep breath.

I hope he catches me.

I jumped from the tower, which wasn't too high but it was a considerable height. I closed my eyes, and after a few seconds, he caught me.

Whew. Thank God Nate caught me.

I opened my eyes and gasped.

Nate didn't catch me!! Shane did!!! What the heck is he doing here???

He was holding me in his arms and grinning. "I need to talk to you now."

"But-!" I started to say when he began to speak to the crowd.

"I'm sorry, but I need the princess now. Goodbye," he said and ran off.

I looked at Nate, who looked flabbergasted.

"Shane! What are you doing??" I hissed at him as we got outside.

"I'm getting an answer no matter what," he whispered back.

Great. Simply great. I was so wrong when I said that my day could not get any weirder.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15 (NEWCOMER ON THE SCENE)

I slapped the back of Shane's head.

"Shane! Put me down!" I protested as he continued to speed towards the bench under a tree.

Gosh. He wasn't stopping or anything at all.

"No. I need to tell you something," he said stubbornly and finally put me down on the bench.

I huffed and straightened out my skirt. I pulled the crown from my hair, sending strands of my hair tumbling down in curls. On my face was a frown. What was Shane thinking? And in the middle of the play too!

"What do you want?" I asked him.

He was silent for a while. He paced back and forth. I grew impatient.

I sighed. "Really. What do you want? Why'd you do that for crying out loud?"

He suddenly placed his hands on my shoulders. He looked at me with such a serious expression on his face that it nearly scared the cereal out of me.

"Shane?" I whispered this time. He was dead serious, and he was never like this. He was always the aloof guy. Not this serious person looking at me with nearly stone-like eyes.

"Norah, do you still love me?" he asked me.

I could only stare back at him. I turned my head the other time. Jeez. Why'd he have to bring this up?

"Shane, stop asking me that question," I said.

"I'll make a frog leap on your skirt," he replied.

I laughed. "Yeah right Shane."

"No. I'm serious. I have one frog in my hand now."

My eyes widened and traveled towards his hand. In his hand was a slimy and disgusting-looking frog. The frog made a ribbity sound and it seemed to stare at me. The hairs on my body stood up.

"Shane!!!! You wouldn't!!!!" I screamed at him.

OH MY FREAKING LORD OF PEANUTBUTTER!! I hate frogs!!! EEEWW!! They just look so disgusting to me!! Jeez Shane!!

"See? Now answer me before this frog makes himself home on your lap," he said.

I sighed and made sweeping gestures with my hand. "Oh fine!! Just keep that creature away from me!"

He smiled, satisfied. He bent down and let the frog go, which hopped towards the small pond a few meters away. "Bye Froggy."

I rolled my eyes at him. "'Froggy the Frog'?"

He laughed and sat down beside me. "Isn't it a cute name?"

I only grinned and rolled my eyes. "Yeah riiigght."

We were silent for a while.

"So, your answer?" Shane asked.

I sighed. I guess it was time.

"No. I don't like you the way I did before Shane. I like someone else now," I replied.

"Is it a girl?" he asked and I swear that it took me all of my self-control to stop myself to punch him. Instead, I pinched his hand.

"No. Obviously a boy," I rolled my eyes and laughed.

He pouted. "You didn't need to do that!"

"Well, you shouldn't have said something so stupid."

He laughed. "Fair enough. So what kind of guy is he? Is he gay? I've always been wondering if you'd date someone who wasn't straight."

"Shane, I swear that I will push you into the pond if you keep on saying things like that."

"Oh fine. I was just having fun. So, is he really nice?"

I nodded and smiled as I thought about Nate. "He's sweet. He's caring and basically everything I ask for. Even if he hurt me, it was okay."

All right. Number one on my to-do-list: find way to inflict revenge on Kelley. I'll get to work on that later on.

"Is it my brother Nate?" he asked.

I turned scarlet, and even if it was dark here, I'm sure that my red face shone in midst of darkness. "No! It's… Not him. No way. Yeah. It couldn't be him… I mean… Um… How can you think of that? It's… like… totally… not… er… possible. Aaah. I'm not in love with your brother for crying out loud!"

I turned to the other side, my arms crossed and my face turning a shade darker. Jeez. It's so obvious that I'm lying.

"You're lying," he said and frowned. Was that a flicker of disappointment in his face?

Finally, I decided to give up. It was no use. I had to break it to him while it was still early.

"Oh all right Shane, I do like your brother. That's it," I said and smiled. "Happy?"

I touched my cheeks. Man were they burning. I always feel like this when I'm talking about Nate. Did I really like him that much?

Shane nodded. He certainly looked sad, as his expression took on a different aura. But he seemed to understand. Like I always thought he would.

"It hurts you know, but ah… I have to let you go. Nate is in a heck of a trouble if he doesn't keep you happy. Mark my words. It's just that…" he said and smiled, before his expression faltered once more.

"Just that what?" I said.

He held my hands, and held it softly. I felt a sudden warmth.

"I just wished that I had you back," he smiled and kissed my cheek.

I smiled.

Maybe things weren't meant to be between us. Maybe we really were supposed to fall apart. Maybe there was a different door of fate for me. Oh I don't know why I'm speaking so poetically. For the love of crayola…

But I don't know how things with Nate will turn out to be… Will it be filled with a lot of things? I've already faced a supernova of a problem, Kelley. And she seems to be evil incarnate. I feel like praying the rosary every time I see her. But no way am I giving up.

"You know what Shane? You'll always hold a special place in my heart," I said.

He grinned, but now his sadness seemed to be gone. "Promise?"

I nodded and pecked him on the cheek. "I promise."

He hugged me and stroked my hair. "Why'd I have to let you go?"

"Maybe you just had to."

And there we sat as we watched the stars twinkling back at us. I know that it's wrong to say that stars twinkle, but it just seemed like that.

"Leticia!" I grinned as I sat on the baseball field. I sat in a cross-sitting position, my hands resting on the grass. Once in a while a dragonfly would flutter past me (one was even an inch close to my face) and I'd swat it away.

I had no problems with dragonflies but I absolutely detested mosquitoes. If I were as smart as Einstein, I'd whip up an invention that would obliterate the whole population of mosquitoes in the world. It would be the best invention ever introduced to mankind and it would be worth a thousand Nobel Awards.

Since I'm not, I'll have to fulfill my dreams of wiping them out in the slowest way possible:

Just slap them.

A mosquito landed on my shoulder and I slapped it.

"Eew!" I made a face as I flicked it from my hand.

Simply… YUCK!!!

Leticia smiled at me as she handed me a soda. I opened it and took a few gulps. Leticia was a year older than me, but she's totally cool. She's my neighbour and we hang out a lot. Recently, I've been sharing to her about Kelley, and she thinks she's horrid too.

One day I will have my sweet and most-awaited revenge.

"You done with volleyball?" I asked her as she sat beside me.

Beads of sweat trickled down her face. She pulled out her bright yellow towel and began dabbing at her face. She breathed deeply.

"Yup. Pretty tiring, but I have to go on. Otherwise, I'd do about fifty push-ups," she grinned and drank from her bottle of water.

I sipped on my can. "I love soda."

"Hm… Don't drink too much. There's like twelve tablespoons of sugar inside a can," she said and looked pretty serious.

I frowned. "Oh cheesecake. Why'd you have to say that?"

"Well, sorry for being concerned about your health."

I laughed and punched her on the shoulder. "Whatever!"

We continued chatting as we sat on the grass. There was a game of baseball going on, and we were just watching. The sun was exuding such a sweltering heat that it was a wonder why I didn't suffer from a heat stroke yet. And is that a mirage I see before me?

Aaah!!! I'm going nuts!!!

Suddenly, someone walked past us. It was a tall guy, maybe five inches taller than me. He had deep, blue eyes and straw-berry blonde hair. Leticia immediately tugged my shirt.

"That's Gian!! He's the guy we've all been crushing on," she whispered excitedly.

I nodded. Oh yeah. So he was the recent heart throb among the girls. I've been wondering quite a lot about him.

Nah. He looks cute. I guess he's good enough (or maybe I just had no taste).

But Nate's way cuter.

Then I smiled to myself.

All of a sudden, my eyes were towards the field. The batter hit the ball but it swerved out of place. My eyes followed where it was going.

OH MY HOTDOG!! It's going towards… What's-his-face???? Anyway! I need to save him!

Gian was walking when I lunged towards him, hugging him, and we toppled to the ground. The ball whizzed over our heads.

Whew. Close enough.

I looked at him and grinned. "A ball nearly hit you. It's okay now though."

I stood up and brushed the dust from my shirt. He stood up as well, completely astonished.

"Th-thank you," he said, his voice a little shaky. He was staring at me.

"Nah. It's totally fine. Glad you're safe," I grinned.

Ah. I feel like Batman. Once again the day is saved!

"I'm grateful, really. Thank you," he grinned and he looked excited.

"Sure thing. Well, I'd better go," I said and waved at him.

As I walked a few meters away, he called me.

"What's your name?" he called out.

"Norah. Norah Frost," I smiled and walked away.

Leticia was staring at me, her jaw dropping. I shrugged. "What?"

She took a deep breath and placed her hands on my shoulders. "YoujusttalkedwithGianandIcan'tbelievethatheevenaskedyourname!!! AAAHHH!!"

Okaaaaay. I only understood the 'AAHHH!!' part.

"You are so lucky!" she pouted.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Well, I did what I had to do. I don't even like him."

Of course, I still like Nate.

Lunchtime came and I was sitting at my table with Shannon and Kirstie. As always, the cafeteria was filled with the tinkling of utensils which disharmoniously mixed with the chattering of the students. It was an annoying sound, but we had to get used to it.

Kirstie and Shannon knew about what happened between me and Gian. They didn't mind, they weren't even interested in him. In fact, Shannon thought that he was gay and Kirstie thought that he seemed autistic. How they came up with those conclusions is something that will always be a mystery to me.

"Look, here he comes," Shannon whispered.

Kirstie stared at him. "You sure he isn't even slightly autistic?"

I laughed. "I'm sure."

As he entered the place, heads turned to look at him. He seemed like a sort of celebrity or something. Well, he certainly looked like one.

He grinned.

"Ugh. An announcement again? This is the fourth time. Like I'm interested in what he says," Shannon rolled his eyes.

"People," boomed Gian. "I have found the girl for me yesterday. She was a vision of heaven, and I believe that I have deeply fallen in love with her…"

"Shouldn't it be a 'he'? I bet ten bucks that he's gay!" Shannon said.

I laughed and told her to keep quiet.

"And I now announce that my girlfriend is… Norah Frost!" Gian continued.

Oh. Norah Frost. Lucky girl I guess. I mean, everyone did like Gian and…

Hold on a second… What's going on??? Norah??? Me????? Is this real??? Is Norah even my name???

Desperately, I searched for my i.d.

"Dude! That's my i.d.! And what is going on??" Shannon demanded and I realized that I had been tugging on her i.d.

OH NO. OH NO.

Cripes…

OH FUDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 (A DATE WITH A HEARTTHROB)

I sat frozen to the spot. My tongue probably stuck to the roof of my mouth. Scratch that, it was super-glued to my mouth.

WHAT THE COTTON DAISIES BUTTERSCOTCH WAS HE THINKING??? WAS HE WHACKO???? I've got enough problems already without him, being a catalyst that speeds up my troubles.

Who is he?? He may be handsome but he's certainly not a ruler that I have to follow whatever he wants me to do.

"What the--??!!" I started to say when he suddenly placed his arm around my shoulder. I saw Kelley throw a disgusted look at me and Nate looked simply shocked.

"Yup. She is. I thought that you all just wanted to know that," Gian grinned and everyone went "Ooh" and "Aah" for several times. I saw a few girls crying (which downright pathetic to me) and a few girls looked like they were ready to suspend me fifty meters away from the ground.

Gian only grinned at me. "So, where do we go on our first date?"

I sighed. "Look. I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait? What about the date?"

I faced him with a murderous look on my face. I didn't even smile. "TALK. NOW. Or else I kick your butt all the way to Atlantis."

He gulped and complied. He had no choice after all. It was either talk or meet my fist.

I held his hand and dragged him towards the hallway. A few people jumped out of the way, most of them had stunned expressions carved into their faces. Ah well. After all, since when did Norah Frost ever have a heat throb as a 'boyfriend'?

Eeww. He may be cute but he is one vain person. He may have hoodwinked the rest but he didn't fool me. Underneath that cute façade was a very… Um…

Oh crayola. Never mind. I can't judge him since I don't know him yet.

We finally arrived at the hallway, with only a few people passing by. Thank God they weren't the nosy type. I could talk to Gian in peace.

I sighed. Gian looked about and grinned when he turned to me.

"Yes darling?" he asked me.

"Er… First of all, don't call me darling," I reminded him.

"Oh okay. Pookie bear maybe?"

"Um… No…"

"Sweet honey bun?"

I held my hands up and sighed. "No! Don't… er… Call me anything like that. Got it? Now, why the hell did you do that? Are you playing a prank on me?"

His eyes widened for a few seconds before he erupted into loud laughter. "No Norah. I really do like you. I realized that when you saved that ball from my face. It would be a shame to have my face all mangled up."

Shame eh? He's going to be disappointed soon if he keeps this up. My fist is just itching to meet his face.

"And… you really are pretty," he said and I couldn't help but blush.

Oh get a grip Norah! This dude's nothing.

"How about a date then?" he asked, and he looked extremely eager.

"No," I said flatly and walked away.

I need to get away from this psycho. He's out of his mind. His mind's been replaced with… Strawberry jam…

Yuuck.

Gian ran after me. "We have to go on a date. Come on Norah. It'll be fun."

I sighed and more people stared at us. "No. That's final."

And I walked away and left him frowning.

I sat in the library. The place was a cozy place to be in. I was reading Alice in Wonderland. Like the book, my day was just as bizarre.

I can't believe it. The most popular guy in school likes me, and I have no idea why. I don't believe him for one second. It's as if I've sprinkled some fairy dust on him and it's caused him to go crazy! Jeez. I've got enough problems already…

And Nate. Jeez! How will I ever score a date with him if psychos keep on showing up?? Why couldn't they just leave me alone??

I sat in silence when suddenly a paper plane flew to my table. Curious, I picked it up, wondering what its contents would be about.

"Date? Please?

Love, Gian."

A grisly feeling settled on my stomach.

What the butterscotch was this?

I looked around and saw that Gian was behind a bookshelf, grinning pleadingly at me. He had these puppy dog eyes that would sway any girl.

Any girl except me of course.

"No," I mouthed back and crushed the paper plane. I got up and walked away, storming.

Jeez he is getting on my nerves!

Right now, I was at home, just surfing the internet. It was just after class and I practically ran all the way back home.

Thank God. At least he couldn't follow me until here. This place was safe for me. Like the light that drives vampires away.

Yeah. He couldn't follow me here. That would be cuckoo of him if he did so. That was just plain…

All of a sudden, something lightly tapped on the window.

What the fudge was that?

I stood up and hurriedly went towards the window, nearly hitting my desk. I saw that a few pebbles had landed outside. I opened the window.

"Over here!" a familiar voice said.

I looked down and to my horror saw that it was Gian.

What???? He's STILL here????

"Gian! What are you doing here??" I hissed at him.

He only smiled. "I still need a date with you. Pleeease???"

"No!" I said, feeling very annoyed, and I hope that he got that message.

I rolled my eyes.

Jeez. This guy is desperate. Maybe…

But that's unthinkable Norah!!! I mean…

Oh… But he won't stop!!

Finally, I decided to give in. "Fine. I'll go."

Do I know what I'm getting into? No. Do I know how stupid this whole thing is? No. Am I crazy? Yes.

"Cool. Pick you up tomorrow at two in the afternoon," Gian grinned and waved.

I waved weakly. "Yeah…"

"I love---"

But by then, I had shut the window.

Gian held my hand as we walked around the theme park. Boy, this was really awkward. But I had to let him do it since he threatened me that he would cry out loud. No way was I having people stare at me.

Girls looked at him as he passed away. To him, they gave admiring looks. To me, they gave murderous ones. I only sighed and rolled my eyes.

It's not like I wanted this!

"Let's go to the Love Boat!" Gian urged me.

I felt like I was about to puke.

"Um… Why don't you get us something to eat and I'll ride… Er… Something…" I replied.

He shrugged. "Fine. We'll meet here."

And I praised the heavens as he walked away.

Finally! I was free! Even if it was only for a few minutes, I could certainly live with that. It was better than nothing.

I walked towards one ride. It was a roller coaster. I could hear the screams of delight of the people riding it. It made me feel excited.

Okay. Here I go.

I lined up for a few minutes and I was soon getting inside the ride. There were about six people in every compartment. I was ushered to sit at the front. I saw that someone was already sitting beside my seat. It was a girl.

Ah well. We could both scream together.

I sat down and fastened my seatbelt. I was quiet when my companion suddenly spoke up in the most unexpected manner:

"Why! It's YOU again!" she said.

I froze.

Icy tone… The kind that gave me shivers… The kind that inspired a deep sense of loathing in me… The devil incarnate…

It's KELLEY!!

To my horror, I faced her. Her hands were folded across her chest, and a frown set on her face.

"Norah, Norah, Norah," she said, and her voice sounded deadly.

Oh this'll be fun.

WHAT THE CRAYOLA IS THIS?!?!?!


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17 (GOODBYE)

I froze as I saw Kelley beside me.

Holy… Fudge… Harpies.

Kelley… The Abominable Snowman in my life; the Bigfoot; the vicious Loch Ness Monster; and certainly the Hitler in my own life.

Why did that creature have to come here??? WHY???? WHY???? WHY????

"So here you are. Again. What a loser," she rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, a playful tune began to play, and I could guess that it was the theme song of the ride. "Hello and good afternoon! All aboard the Blizzard! Where we let you feel what it's like to go through a vicious storm and come out of it alive in a fun way!"

Somehow that just didn't sound right…

"Please put on your seatbelts and get ready for the most exciting three minutes of your life!"

I put on my seatbelt. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Think out of this… Just go on with the ride… Kelley will be no problem.

Suddenly, somebody unbuckled my seatbelt. I turned and found out it was Kelley. She had a smirk on her face.

She stuck her tongue out. "I hope you fall down."

"Miss! Do not unbuckle the seatbelt of other people! You could hurt them!" a guy managing the ride reprimanded her. His face seemed red, and I could tell that he certainly didn't want any accidents. Not on his watch.

Kelley gulped and turned a deep shade of scarlet. Like period.

Eew. Maybe not that red… or icky…

"But… Um…" she said, apparently trying and failing to come up with a plausible explanation.

"Shush! Now think about what you did. This little lass might've been hurt! And who will they blame?" he said and waited for Kelley to give an answer that might satisfy the guy.

I like this man. It's sweet of him to torture people I hate. Aah. Picture-perfect moment. Now where was a video cam when I needed it?

I was smiling and Kelley was slowly getting more humiliated by the second as people stared at her. Like a criminal.

I like this.

"Me?" Kelley answered, and her trembling voice was the sweetest music.

I know I'm kind of evil, but I am sooo getting her back now! Feel the guy's wrath!

"No!" the guy barked back at her and she turned redder. "Me of course! I'm managing the bloody ride! Now you stop doing that or else I will ban you from this ride!"

Kelley nodded, and I could swear that I saw her lower lip tremble.

The nice man approached me. "Are you okay lass?"

I nodded. "Thanks. She really was being mean. I could've died."

Kelley shot daggers at me. But hey, I didn't give a fudge.

He nodded. "Well, if she bothers you anymore, call me. I'll fix her up."

Then he shot a menacing glance at Kelley and she scowled.

Hahahahahhaahahaha! That's what you geeettttt!!!!!!!!! It's on like Donkey Kong!!

"Thank you," I said and nodded, looking grateful (and smug of course). Kelley was in a terrible mood, like she could tear me limb from limb.

"I'll get you for this someday," she said, her teeth clenched.

I stuck my tongue out. I had, after all, triumphed. "Like yeah you will."

The ride finally began to start. I took a deep breath. Here it goes. Kelley didn't face me. I knew she couldn't stomach the sight of me.

And that somehow made me feel happy.

The ride began to go upwards, and the noise of the tracks filled my ears. We were slowly escalating, and I could feel excitement choking me. I looked down, the ground seemed so distant, and the people were like insects.

Here it…

"AAAHHHH!!!!" I screamed before I could finish the sentence in my head. The ride had propelled downwards at an incredible speed, and I felt like my organs were getting jumbled inside of me. I saw (to my delight) that Kelley was screaming madly, like a banshee.

Finally the ride ended after three minutes of twists, loops and unexpected accelerations. Kelley looked absolutely sick. As soon as we arrived at the start, she detached herself from her seatbelt and ran for the nearest rest room. Deep inside, I was cackling.

I know. Evil, right? But hey, she's getting what she deserves.

I hopped off the ride and began going back to the place where I and Gian were supposed to meet up. He was standing there, looking around, most likely for me. He looked stunning, to be honest. His hair gleamed in the sun and his skin seemed like a celebrity's.

But…

Aaah. I have no idea why I don't like him. He's just not my type…

I don't fall for…

Gorgeous guys with gorgeous faces and gorgeous eyes and gorgeous teeth.

Aaaack! What's wrong with me?

I sighed. Ah well. There was one obvious answer:

Nate.

Gian smiled at me, and I felt like slapping myself for not even having a crush on him. "Hey. I was getting worried. I missed you."

That line should've melted my heart, but it didn't. I didn't even feel a small tingle of excitement jolt through my body.

Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

I smiled at him, so as not to offend him. "Oh. Cool."

He handed me an ice cream, and I felt bad. Jeez. What if I really do break his heart? Poor guy. I feel like the bad guy.

"I bought this for you," he said and handed me a strawberry-flavored ice cream. I licked it, and the taste was absolutely scrumptious.

"Thanks," I replied.

All of a sudden, he held my hand. "Let's walk home."

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE OF ALL CRAYOLA HARPIES!!!!

The most popular guy in school is actually holding my hand!!! Oh my gosh!!!! And I feel…

Nothing.

No spark. No anything.

Am I really weird? Shouldn't this be a perfect moment for any girl?

'It would've been perfect if it were Nate', my brain unexpectedly supplied.

I could imagine Nate here beside me, holding my hand and giving me ice cream. Just the thought of it made me smile. And I did.

"You enjoying yourself?" he asked me as he noticed my smile.

Oops. He thinks I'm smiling because he held my hand.

Ah well. I wouldn't want to disappoint him. I'll play along for a while.

"Yup," I grinned.

He grinned. "I've never been this nervous around a girl before. You seem different, and you haven't even tried to kiss me…"

Would you like me to???? Jeez. He thinks every girl wants to kiss him! Well… Probably a lot, but not all. Look at me. I certainly don't want to kiss him.

"Oh. Cool, I guess?" I said and laughed nervously.

Peanut fudge. This is getting awkward!

"Would you mind if I…?" he said but stopped. He began to lean forward and touch my hands gently.

OH FUDGE CRAYOLA ICE CREAM!!!!! No!!!! No!!!! Not now!!!! No!!!!!

I was panicking inside; my brain cells were desperately running amok in different directions. I felt the molecules inside my body scramble and my atoms jumble.

What do I do???? What do I do????? What do I fudging do?????

Before I could think, before I could let my brain do what it's supposed to do, before I could think of a logical solution, I threw my ice cream at his face.

He stopped and slowly began wiping his face clean.

I gasped.

FUDGE. WHAT THE PEANUTBUTTER DID I DO THAT FOR???

I could only stare at him, and at the ice cream dripping to the floor in a pool of pink melted ice cream.

"I'm sorry… I… I…" I stammered.

Finally, he had wiped all of the mess from his face. His handkerchief was caked with the mess and I felt like evaporating into the air. Please, please someone take me away from here.

Someone, whisk me away from here.

But of course, it's not like I'm the auteur of my life.

Instead of frowning or even getting mad, like I expected him to, he laughed. "Sorry. Of course. I must've frightened you. I'm sorry. I forget that I make girls nervous. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

Nervous? Hah. You didn't make me nervous; you scared the helium gas out of me! Jeez. His head is so inflated.

"Well, shall we walk home then?" he said and offered his hand once more.

I seriously wanted to chew it off, but I managed to control my raging anger inside.

"Yes. I'd. Like. To," I said through clenched teeth.

All throughout the walk, I seriously controlled my urge to strangle him.

And that was HARD.

"Milk flakes! Milk flakes!" I said as I called my dog.

Her bell jingled from her collar, making a light, tinkling sound. Her beady eyes gleamed and her black nose twitched. Her white hair was long now, reaching to her small legs. She walked towards me.

I laughed and hugged her in my arms. Her soft fur brushed against my shirt and her cold nose was pressed near my neck.

I loved Milk flakes. I've had her for about three years now. She's a shih tzu and very small. I could place her inside my bag.

We were outside our house, sitting on the pavement. The sun was shining brightly and I had to constantly shield my eyes from it. But today seemed like a good day.

"Hey there," a familiar voice said and I froze.

Nebula clouds! He's here!

I swiveled around and saw Nate grinning at me. He was wearing a green hoodie and jeans. He sat beside me. I didn't say anything. He grinned as he stroked Milk flakes' fur.

"She's very cute," he said and Milk flakes licked his hand.

Funny. She usually doesn't like strangers.

"You like dogs?" I asked him.

"Love them, really," he replied.

Suddenly, Milk flakes began to struggle.

"Oh fine. Go," I said and released her. She trotted away, looking happy to be free from me.

"So, how's Gian?" Nate asked.

I turned scarlet, and a sudden rush of anger filled my body as I recalled yesterday. Three words: WORST DAY EVER.

"He's not my boyfriend, he just pulled me. And I don't know why…" I said, feeling glum. Jeez. How will I get him off my back??

"Oh. Good. I'd be angry if he hurt you," he said unexpectedly as he looked up at the sky; and a good thing too since I turned redder.

"Er… Thanks…"

"I missed you, you know. Haha. Maybe we should go out again sometime."

Nate… Is asking me out… On a date!!!!!

I felt like screaming and dancing in the streets.

OH MY GOSH!!!

"If your boyfriend doesn't mind," he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. "He's not my boyfriend. Sure. I'd love to."

He smiled. "Cool."

Aaah. My day today is so perfect! And all because of Nate! So cool! I need to hug Milk flakes!!

Wait a second… Where is she?

I looked around. She wasn't in the garden, near the door or even here with me. I know that I let her go…

"Milk flakes!" Nate suddenly yelled.

I looked at the road and Milk flakes was sitting there. I began to scream.

"Milk flakes!! Come back!!!" I said, feeling panic building inside me.

All of a sudden, the most horrid thing happened. For three seconds, I could only stare in horror as a car zoomed past us and crush Milk flakes. I heard a yelp of pain and the car was soon a blur.

No.

I ran towards the road. "Milk flakes!!"

Her body lay still, and she looked like she was slowly dying. Tears started to spill out of my eyes as I held her body. She cried and I started to bawl.

"Milk flakes… Milk flakes…" I said and began rushing to the pavement to Nate.

I lay her body on the grass. She was barely breathing. Her body was crushed badly.

"Norah… She's dying…" Nate said and he looked miserable.

No… Milk flakes will live… She can't leave me. She just can't…

But I knew that that wasn't true. Slowly, her tiny body was giving away. I picked her up once more and held her gently. She licked my nose and finally closed her black eyes; her black eyes that I know would never open and twinkle. Finally, she stopped breathing.

I cried and it felt like the tears would never stop. I could've cried an ocean.

Goodbye Milk flakes…

Nate shuffled towards me and hugged me, understanding how I felt.

I never thought I'd say goodbye to Milk flakes so soon.


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 (NIGHT RITUAL)

Where is he?

I checked my watch. It was about ten in the evening already. The darkness blanketed the sky and the pale moon was shedding its light on me. A soft breeze blew past me. It was a bit chilly and I was so grateful that I brought my jacket.

All of a sudden, there was a rustling noise and the soft padding of footsteps. I looked to my right and saw Nate emerge from the bushes. He looked sleepy and he was wearing a blue jacket with stripes on it. His hair seemed messy, maybe indicating that he took a little nap before this venture.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked him.

He shrugged and slowly came closer. "I'm fine. A bit sleepy. Let's get started then. Where's the shovel?"

"I dug the hole already."

"And Milk flakes?"

It took me a few seconds to answer, and as I did, I felt like choking. "She's… there."

He patted my shoulder and I could see it in his face that he understood me and offered me his sympathy. "It's all right Norah. She's in a better place now."

"Yeah… In dog heaven… Chewing on a large bone…"

He smiled. "Well, let's get going."

We walked towards a small tree, where Milk flakes' body lay near. I still couldn't believe that she would never leap into my arms or chew my shoes anymore. Heck, I'd let her chew all the Converse shoes she'd want if it'd bring her to life. But that can't happen.

At first, I denied what happened. For me, she was like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. She'd wake up. I know she would.

But then, that's a foolish girl's wish. Now I have to face the facts.

And bury her.

Nate slowly picked her body up. "Where's the hole?"

"There," I pointed to a hole about three feet deep. I decided that it would make this go faster of I already dig it.

He bent down. "You ready?"

Tears started prickling in my eyes. I wiped them away with the back of my hand. I sniffed. "Yes… Go on…"

Gosh my voice is wobbling an awful lot.

He was slowly lowering Milk flakes towards the hole.

All of a sudden, I felt that I wasn't ready yet. No… I can't do it… Not yet… Not now…

STOP!!!

All of a sudden, my body propelled forward in an attempt to stop Nate. We both fell into the hole and I could soon taste soil in my mouth.

EEW!

I sputtered. "Eew! Bleeech!"

Nate stared at me. "What… what was that Norah?"

I turned scarlet instantly and I slapped my forehead.

Jeez! What the bananas was I thinking??? Why did I have to do that????

We were both in the hole, and soil covered us. Nate was still holding on to Milk flakes and he was brushing away soil from his hair. He didn't seem upset. Just flabbergasted.

"I… er… Oh fine. I wasn't ready yet," I admitted. Although it seemed like a lame excuse, at least it was the truth.

To my surprise, he laughed. "Hah. I knew it. I felt the same way when my goldfish Cookie died. Shane had a hard time flushing. I nearly attacked him with the plunger."

My eyes widened. Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yup. I know how you feel. Let's just bury her when you're ready. I certainly wasn't expecting you to actually push me into the hole. But I'm fine. Really Norah."

I smiled at him and hugged him. "Thanks Nate."

I heard him chuckle in reply.

Gosh. Nate was so nice. I've been causing him a lot of trouble too. Maybe I should get over Milk flakes. She may be gone, but I have other things to be happy about. I know that she wouldn't want me to be sad.

"All right. I think I'm ready now," I stated and pulled away from him.

"You sure?" he asked me, probably fearing that I would push him a second time.

I bobbed my head. "Positive."

Slowly, we climbed out of the hole with Nate carefully holding Milk flakes. He finally buried her, and I could only smile and cry at the same time.

Goodbye Milk flakes. I'll miss you.

After he had totally buried Milk flakes, he yawned.

I smiled. "Sorry to make you stay up late."

He shook his head. "Nah. I'm fine. Well, goodnight Norah."

Then he pecked me on the cheek and walked towards his house.

After he left, I was burning inside. I could hardly contain my excitement. My bodily temperature was rapidly escalating. So…

I fainted.

Oh bananas!! Why the fudge did I have to faint??


End file.
